Virginia Plan
Overview
The Virginia Plan was a proposal by Virginia delegates for a bicameral legislative branch. The plan was drafted by James Madison while he waited for a quorum to assemble at the Constitutional Convention of 1787. The Virginia Plan was notable for its role in setting the overall agenda for debate in the convention and, in particular, for setting forth the idea of population-weighted representation in the proposed national legislature.
Background
The Virginia Plan proposed a legislative branch consisting of two chambers (bicameral legislature), with the dual principles of rotation in office and recall applied to the lower house of the national legislature. Each of the states would be represented in both houses of the legislature according to their "Quotas of contribution, or to the number of free inhabitants." States with a large population, like Virginia (which was the most populous state at the time), would thus have more representatives than smaller states. Large states supported this plan, and smaller states generally opposed it, preferring the New Jersey Plan, which considered the states to be sovereign and favored a unicameral legislature where each state, regardless of size, had one vote, as under the Articles of Confederation.
Details of the Plan
The Virginia Plan was a 15-point proposal designed to replace the Articles of Confederation. It called for the establishment of a national government that had three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The legislative branch would have two houses. In the first house, representation would be based on the population, and in the second house, which would be elected by the first house, representation would be based on the amount of money given to the central government by the states, or the number of free inhabitants in the states. The executive branch would be chosen by the legislative branch and would have a veto over laws passed by the legislature. The judicial branch would be appointed by the legislature and would serve for life.
Impact of the Plan
The Virginia Plan was significant because it was the first document to suggest a separation of powers into executive, legislative, and judicial branches. It also proposed that the national government should be composed of a supreme Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary. The plan's proposal for proportional representation in both houses of the legislature was highly controversial, and was a major factor in the emergence of the Great Compromise, which eventually resolved the dispute by creating a Senate in which each state had equal representation, and a House of Representatives in which representation was based on population.
Legacy
The Virginia Plan's legacy is evident in the current structure of the U.S. government. The idea of a bicameral legislature, as well as the notion of checks and balances, were incorporated into the United States Constitution. The Virginia Plan also set the stage for future debates about the structure of the U.S. government.