The Framers of the Constitution

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The Framers of the Constitution were a group of delegates of the Constitutional Convection that helped draft the United States constitution. The United States Founding Fathers were political leaders that played a critical role in the American Revolution. The main ones include George Washington, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and John Jay. They established the Constitution, participated in the Revolutionary War, and were signatories to the Declaration of Independence. The Framers of the Constitution, had sturdy educational backgrounds obtained from self-learning and private tutorship. The United States Constitution is the oldest written national Constitution that exists and is still in operation today. It was completed at the Constitutional Convection of 1787 that brought together 55 delegates in Philadelphia with the primary goal of amending the Articles of the Confederation.

The Virginia Plan was an offer developed by James Madison and highlighted at the Constitutional Convection of 1787. It was a proposal to establish a two-branch (bicameral) legislature in the freshly founded United States. The new system meant splitting legislators into two houses contrary to the single assembly version put forward by the New Jersey plan. In the bicameral legislature system, legislators would serve specific term limits. The plan proposed that states should be represented in government based upon specific population numbers. This would benefit large states like Virginia which raised concerns for underrepresentation for states with less population. The article of confederation plan of Virginia also called for the formation of a three-branch government including a judiciary, legislature, and executive government. Although the plan was not adopted in full, some parts of the plan were employed in the Great Compromise of 1787, that laid the foundation for the development of the Constitution of the United States (Knapp, 2017). The delegates were ultimately tasked with evaluating the drawbacks and benefits of each plan and making a decision. Rather than adopting either proposal, Roger Sherman proposed a third option. The plan incorporated the bicameral legislature from Virginia Plan but compromised to address population-based representation concerns. In the new plan, every state would have two senate representatives and a number of house representatives determined by the population. The delegates agreed the plan was fair and voted for its legislation in 1787.

The New Jersey Plan was a plan for the U.S. federal government structure that William Paterson fronted at the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. It was a response to the Virginia Plan that Paterson strongly believed would grant larger states more power placing a disadvantage to smaller states. The New Jersey plan proposed that each state get one vote in Congress, creating equal power irrespective of their population (Scrudato, 2020). Paterson’s plans also included other features such as developing a Supreme Court and the federal governments regulating trade and trade imports. The delegates from bigger states naturally opposed the New Jersey Plan as it would limit their power. The convection eventually rejected Paterson’s plan with a 7 to 3 vote despite small state delegates opposing the plan. The main disagreement was over legislature appointment. The convection was saved by a compromise brought by Connecticut’s Roger Sherman. Another issue with the plan had to do with the enslaved American population; a considerable section would take part in the appointment of House Representatives. The conflict led to a compromise where slaves would be counted as 3/5 of person during an appointment. As compromises worked out, just like other delegates from smaller states. William Paterson supported the new Constitution. Although the New Jersey Plan was rejected, the debate over Paterson’s proposal saw to it that the U.S. Senate would be structured with two Senators per state.

References

Knapp, A. T. (2017). The New Jersey Plan and the Structure of the American Union. Geo. JL & Pub. Pol’y, 15, 615.

Scrudato IV, J. (2020). A Constitution Fit for a Nation: The Influence of the Law of Nations on the Virginia Plan and James Madison’s Constitutional Thought. Yale JL & Human., 31, 209.