Answer:Delegates from Virginia presented a bold plan developed by James Madison. The Virginia Plan called for the Articles of Confederation to be replaced with a completely new constitution. Under this constitution, the federal government would be much stronger. Power would be split between legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Checks and balances would prevent any branch from abusing its power.
The legislative branch would be bicameral. This means that it would have two houses. Representation in both houses would be proportional to each state’s population. This would be a big change. The states had all been equal under the Articles of Confederation. Big states and small states each had one vote in the Congress.
The small states strongly opposed the Virginia Plan. They felt that it would give too much power to the bigger states. Some states also feared that a strong federal government would behave like a tyrant to the states. They remembered how the British government had tyrannized the colonies.
Delegates from New Jersey, one of the small states, presented a very different plan. Under the New Jersey Plan, the Articles of Confederation would be revised, not replaced. Most importantly, the states would continue to be equally represented.
After several days of debate, the assembly rejected the New Jersey Plan in favor of creating a new constitution. For weeks, however, the issue of representation split the large states and small states. Finally, the two sides agreed on a compromise. There would be two houses, one with proportional representation and one with equal representation.
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