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Authors: Charles River Editors
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Virginia Plan because it had the support of Virginia's delegation, of which James Madison was a member. Madison had researched ancient and contemporary constitutions for over a month to help him devise his Virginia Plan, while most of the other delegates arrived empty handed and hadn’t even cracked open a single book on the subject. That was due to the fact that for most delegates, the original intention of the Philadelphia Convention was not to create an entirely new government but to simply reform the old one. When Madison arrived in Philadelphia with a plan in hand, the Virginia Plan, he quickly circulated it among the delegates before proceedings even began.
Madison did not formally introduce the Virginia Plan himself. Instead, Virginia Governor Edmund Randolph formally presented it to the Convention. When voting whether to consider it or not, the delegates were implicitly voting for a complete overhaul of the Articles of Confederation. Secause the Virginia plan was so different from the Articles, voting to consider it effectively meant the Convention was voting for a whole new Constitution. Almost unanimously, the Convention agreed to draft a new Constitution, and the debate began in earnest.
Although the U.S. Constitution took some obvious departures from Madison's Virginia Plan, Madison’s work was the blueprint for the Constitution. Madison’s Plan called for a bicameral legislature, with both chambers made up of delegates from the 13 states, proportional to each state's population. This thus favored large states like Virginia, which was the largest at the time, and the Virginia Plan became known as the Big State Plan. Madison's Plan, however, also made more lasting contributions by laying out the terms of the separation of powers, and a three-branch government of legislative, judicial and executive branches. Each branch was to be separate from the other two, and each branch would be given different powers and functions that ensured they could “check” the power of the other two branches. This was a stark departure from other forms of government, such as the English Parliamentarian system, where the Prime Minister was both a member of the executive and legislative branches of government.
Surprisingly, most all delegates agreed on most of Madison's basic outline. While the national legislature under the Articles of Confederation only had one house, it was bicameral legislatures that were more common among state governments, and the British Parliament was also a bicameral model. Madison saw the unicameral legislature as prone to extremism, because there was no upper house which could prevent public sentiment from provoking unwise legislation. In other words, Madison felt the unicameral legislature was too democratic, a sentiment shared by a majority of the delegates, who supported the separation of powers and a bicameral legislature. The idea of having a directly elected House and an indirectly elected Senate were uncontroversial. On the other hand, Hamilton’s idea of an elected executive serve for life was roundly rejected by most delegates, who considered that tantamount to a monarchy.
While the structure of the three branches of governments was widely agreed upon, the way the two houses of the national legislature were apportioned was a point of major dispute. Smaller states quickly rallied in opposition to Madison's Big State Plan. They came to favor, with some amendments, the New Jersey Plan, which provided for a unicameral legislature of equal representation for all states. Most of the New Jersey Plan was not seriously considered, but the notion that all states should have equal representation obviously made its way to the Constitution’s formula for the U.S. Senate. Madison opposed the plan, arguing that the small states need not worry about being domineered by the larger ones. Madison and Hamilton together argued that the large states, like New York,
Madison did not formally introduce the Virginia Plan himself. Instead, Virginia Governor Edmund Randolph formally presented it to the Convention. When voting whether to consider it or not, the delegates were implicitly voting for a complete overhaul of the Articles of Confederation. Secause the Virginia plan was so different from the Articles, voting to consider it effectively meant the Convention was voting for a whole new Constitution. Almost unanimously, the Convention agreed to draft a new Constitution, and the debate began in earnest.
Although the U.S. Constitution took some obvious departures from Madison's Virginia Plan, Madison’s work was the blueprint for the Constitution. Madison’s Plan called for a bicameral legislature, with both chambers made up of delegates from the 13 states, proportional to each state's population. This thus favored large states like Virginia, which was the largest at the time, and the Virginia Plan became known as the Big State Plan. Madison's Plan, however, also made more lasting contributions by laying out the terms of the separation of powers, and a three-branch government of legislative, judicial and executive branches. Each branch was to be separate from the other two, and each branch would be given different powers and functions that ensured they could “check” the power of the other two branches. This was a stark departure from other forms of government, such as the English Parliamentarian system, where the Prime Minister was both a member of the executive and legislative branches of government.
Surprisingly, most all delegates agreed on most of Madison's basic outline. While the national legislature under the Articles of Confederation only had one house, it was bicameral legislatures that were more common among state governments, and the British Parliament was also a bicameral model. Madison saw the unicameral legislature as prone to extremism, because there was no upper house which could prevent public sentiment from provoking unwise legislation. In other words, Madison felt the unicameral legislature was too democratic, a sentiment shared by a majority of the delegates, who supported the separation of powers and a bicameral legislature. The idea of having a directly elected House and an indirectly elected Senate were uncontroversial. On the other hand, Hamilton’s idea of an elected executive serve for life was roundly rejected by most delegates, who considered that tantamount to a monarchy.
While the structure of the three branches of governments was widely agreed upon, the way the two houses of the national legislature were apportioned was a point of major dispute. Smaller states quickly rallied in opposition to Madison's Big State Plan. They came to favor, with some amendments, the New Jersey Plan, which provided for a unicameral legislature of equal representation for all states. Most of the New Jersey Plan was not seriously considered, but the notion that all states should have equal representation obviously made its way to the Constitution’s formula for the U.S. Senate. Madison opposed the plan, arguing that the small states need not worry about being domineered by the larger ones. Madison and Hamilton together argued that the large states, like New York,
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