What was the Virginia Plan?
The Virginia Plan, introduced on May 29, 1787, formed the basis of the Convention and was debated word by word. The plan contained fifteen resolves. It was the first plan introduced in the Convention and the one that most closely resembled the Convention’s final product. It proposed that the powers of the federal government should be expanded to accomplish three goals: “common defence [sic], security of liberty, and general welfare.” Resolve number three provided for two houses of Congress, or a bicameral legislature. Under the Virginia Plan, the people would elect the first branch. Then the members of the first branch would elect the second branch of the “National Legislature.”
Under the Virginia Plan, the U.S. Congress would possess great power. Resolve number six granted Congress the power to negate, or veto, any laws passed by state legislatures. Resolve number seven provided Congress the power to appoint the “National Executive” or leader of the country. Thus, under this plan, Congress—not the people—would select the national leader. Resolve number nine provided for a “National Judiciary,” or a set of judges that could hear cases throughout the country.
The Virginia Plan envisioned the structure of the new United States government under the new Constitution discussed in the Philadelphia Convention. Under the Virginia Plan, there would be three branches of government—legislative, executive, and judicial branches. It also called for a bicameral legislature composed of a House and a Senate. It determined that each house would be selected based on the population of the respective states, meaning that the larger, more populous states would have more representatives and senators. The Virginia Plan also called for a very strong national government.
With what other plan did the Virginia Plan compete?
The other major plan for the structure of the new Constitution was the so-called New Jersey Plan, proposed by William Paterson. This plan called for a weaker national government, only one house of Congress, and equal representation in the legislative branch. It also called for executive and judicial branches, but they would clearly be less powerful than the one-house legislature.
On June 15, 1787, Paterson introduced his plan. “Can we, as representatives of independent states, annihilate the essential powers of independency?” Paterson said when introducing his proposal. He wanted a weaker central government.
The New Jersey Plan contained many features, including a multiperson executive. Under the New Jersey Plan, Congress could act only on certain matters. Congress would elect the members of the federal executive. Congress could remove the persons of the federal executive if a majority of state leaders voted such action necessary.
Interestingly, the New Jersey Plan contained language providing that the laws of the U.S. Congress “shall be the supreme law of the respective States.” This formed the basis for the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution. The supremacy clause provides that the laws of the national, or federal, government are the supreme law of the land, trumping the laws of the various states.
What was the Great Compromise?
The Great Compromise of 1787 was a measure articulated by Roger Sherman (1721–1793) of Connecticut that created the ultimate form of the U.S. Congress. It combined features of both the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan. It allowed representatives from the larger states and the smaller states to agree on the composition of Congress. Under the Great Compromise, one house—the U.S. House of Representatives—is based on proportional representation. This meant that the larger states would have more representatives. The other house—the U.S. Senate—was based on equal representation, as each state would have two senators. Each side received something from the Great Compromise: the larger states received proportional representation in the House, but the smaller states received equal representation in the Senate.
How precarious was the Great Compromise and its ultimate success?
It was a very precarious time, and the Convention almost divided irreparably over this issue of legislative representation. Fortunately, delegate Roger Sherman of Connecticut proposed a measure that eventually saved the Constitution.
Roger Sherman was an influential politician with a distinguished political career. Sherman has the distinction of signing several great American documents—the Declaration and Resolves of 1774 (a document where the colonists declared their resolve to oppose British power), the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and finally the United States Constitution.
Sherman played an influential role in the Convention, but he is most remembered for his compromise that saved the Convention and the Constitution. Under this so-called “Great Compromise,” the states would be represented equally in the Senate, and the states would be represented proportionally in the House of Representatives based on population. This proposal reflects our current system. In the House of Representatives, a state’s number of representatives is based on the state’s population. In the Senate, each state has two senators.
However, Sherman’s proposal was voted down 6–5 when it was first introduced. The delegates continued to argue over the issue of proportional versus equal representation. On July 2, the states voted 5–5 on the question of equal representation in the Senate. The states of Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland favored equal representation. The states of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina opposed equal representation. The state of Georgia could have broken the tie, but the two Georgia delegates present—William Houstoun and Abraham Bald-win—split.
Four delegates from Georgia were present at the Convention. However, two of the members—William Few and William Pierce—left the convention for New York to vote on pressing matters in Congress. Few and Pierce would have voted against equal representation. The Convention hung in the balance. The small states would have lost the question of equal representation were it not for the vote of Abraham Baldwin. Baldwin lived in Connecticut virtually his whole life, having moved to Georgia only three years before the Convention. Some historians assert that Baldwin saved the Constitution because he split the Georgia votes, saving the small states from defeat. They argue that Baldwin voted the way he did because he knew the small states would collapse the Convention if they lost the equal representation question in the Senate.
The Convention then agreed to allow a committee of one person from each of the eleven states to be formed to explore the question of how to organize the Congress. The states voted 10–1 in favor of such a committee. The committee was composed primarily of individuals in favor of a senate chosen by equal representation. On July 5, the committee read its report to the entire delegation, calling for proportional representation in the House and equal representation in the Senate. Many of the delegates who had wanted proportional representation in both houses had conceded this issue, realizing that the delegates from small states might leave if they did not get their way.
Did all fifty-five delegates sign the final product of the Philadelphia Convention?
Several delegates left before the Convention convened in September. These included William Richardson Davie, Oliver Ellsworth, William Houston, William Houstoun, John Lansing, Jr., Alexander Martin, Luther Martin, James McClurg, John Francis Mercer, William Pierce, Caleb Strong, George Wythe, and Robert Yates.
Additionally, three members of the Convention stayed until the end but refused to sign the document: Elbridge Gerry, Edmund Randolph, and George Mason IV.
Who were the fifty-five Founding Framers of the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention?
The following table lists the states of the framers and their names:
| Framers of the Constitution | |
| State | Framers |
| Connecticut | Oliver Ellsworth, William Samuel Johnson, Roger Sherman |
| Delaware | Richard Bassett, Gunning Bedford, Jacob Broom, John Dickinson, George Read |
| Georgia | Abraham Baldwin, William Few, William Houstoun, William Pierce |
| Maryland | Daniel Carroll, Luther Martin, James McHenry, John F. Mercer, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer |
| Massachusetts | Elbridge Gerry, Nathan Gorham, Rufus King, Caleb Strong |
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