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Initial Purpose Of The Constitutional Convention

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Constitutional Convention: Summarization of the Plans

The initial purpose of the Constitutional Convention of 1786 in Philadelphia was to discuss and reform The Articles of Confederation; however, many forward-thinking politicians and citizens felt that the Articles fell short in many areas and proved to be a weak agreement that did not encourage unity among the now states, original 13 colonies, and failed to provide security against foreign enemies because funds were not raised or directed to fund military forces (Schmidt et al. 29-31). There were three plans that were presented and considered: The Virgina Plan, The New Jersey Plan, and The Connecticut/Compromise Plan.

The Virginia Plan (Leffler 2016, The Virginia 2005, Schmidt et al. …show more content…

If I understand the language, this plan proposed three branches, legislative, executive, and judicial, and called for unity among the states to ensure the safety and protection of all people represented in The Articles of Confederation. Governor Randolph proposal included a National Legislature (congress) with two branches and the number of representatives per state would be determined by the population of that state, and a National Executive and two judicial branches. Where the members of the first legislature branch would be elected by the people of each state to represent their constitutes and their interests. However, the second branch as well as the National Executive and judicial branches – a supreme tribunal and inferior tribunal, would be elected and appointed by the first branch. The National Legislation branches would be able to introduce and pass laws; and oversee and enforce the laws of the United States. The judicial branches would first examine every act of the National Legislature before it goes into effect. Governor Randolph stated it was imperative that all states agree to the legitimacy of these two legislative branches and their subsequent actions as representatives of the nation and be abided by all states …show more content…

Patterson argued that his proposal would be an amendment to The Articles of Confederation. It is my understanding that the New Jersey Plan was a simple plan that addressed certain weaknesses in The Articles. Patterson stayed with the structure of The Articles and was in favor of continuing with one Congress that included one representative per state. Arguing that this would ensure equal representation regardless of the state’s population size. Patterson proposed that Congress have the power and authority to impose taxes and oversee the regulation of trade and commerce between the states and countries but must have the approval of the states. Congress would also be able to enforce federal laws on states; however, each state would also have their own laws and enforce them. If I am understanding this properly, Patterson proposed the presidency be more than one person and that the presidency would then appoint an Executive Magistrate or judiciary group that would consist of a group of

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In Virginia plan some of the specific powers include, that the national legislature to consent in all situations to which the separate states are unskilled or in which United States consistency may be disturbed by the claim of individual regulation and also assign inferior tribunals. The executive has the power to carry into execution of national laws, and to adverse any legislative act which shall not be passed after wards unless through permission from two third of each branch of national legislature. The judiciary has the power to handle all the circumstances regarding collection of national revenue, impeachment of any state, officers and questions that comprise of national coherence. In New Jersey plan some of the powers that are presented are partially similar to those in Virginia plans but not completely

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The two plans put forth were the, “Virginia Plan” (which favored big states), and the “New Jersey Plan.” (which favored small states) Edmund Randolph of Virginia proposed the Virginia plan. The plan laid out a system in which states would be represented in the national legislature based on their population and/or by how much revenue

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It explained the House of Representatives and the Senate. The plan also stated that their world be one executive, the president. This is where Randolph disagreed. He felt that if we had one president that it would become too close to a monarchy. He thought that a group of three would be more favorable.

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In May 25, 1787, a convention was called in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to express the purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation. However, the intention from many delegates was to draft a new constitution; create a new government rather than fix the existing one. Rhode Island was the only one of the 13 original states to refuse to send delegates to the Constitutional Convention. At the Convention, the first issues they had to address was the representation in Congress.

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During the Constitutional Convention, in the summer of 1787, several divisions arose among the delegates. There were differences between the northern vs. southern states, merchants vs. farmers, free vs. slave states, large vs. small states, and east vs. west. However, the main division of the Constitutional Convention was the Virginia Plan vs. the New Jersey Plan, essentially the large states vs. small states. The primary objective of the meeting was to somehow find a balance of power without leaving any one group or person with absolute control.

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The Virginia Plan, created by James Madison, proposed that the Articles of Confederation to be “scrapped” or thrown out, and that the people would make a new National Government which has the power to make laws binding upon the states, to raise its own money through taxes, and to regulate trade throughout the states. The mayor, Edmund Randolph, introduced this plan. It was wildly popular throughout the states and was put into effect. It was significant in creating our new government simply because it got rid of the Articles of Confederation. It made it possible for the federal government to not only gain money from tax from the states, but it also impacted the creation of our new government.

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This plan wanted the articles of confederations to be revised and everyone to have every state have equal representation in congress. There was a compromise between these two plans that have equal representation

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In the creating of the US Constitution, the creators hit many roadblocks. It was difficult for the state delegates to decide on much, especially because they were biased and in favor of their own states. The New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan were two examples of the disagreement of representation within the states in the legislative branch. The New Jersey Plan was in favor of equal representation throughout the states. The Virginia Plan was in favor of population representation, meaning the larger states would have more representation than the smaller states.

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At the Constitutional Convention, our founding fathers met to reconstruct the Articles of Confederation, not knowing that they would create the United States Constitution, an entire new format of government. They wanted to create a government that was powerful yet restricted in certain ways, in order to create equal representation for all people. Three main compromises were made at the Constitutional Convention. These compromises were The Great Compromise, the Three-Fifths Compromise, and the addition of the Bill of Rights.

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The plan proposed by Virginia otherwise known as the “large-state plan.” Which proposed “a bicameral legislature, in which the lower house would be elected proportionately and the upper house would be selected from a list of nominees sent from the state legislatures on the basis of equal representation for the states. ”(add footnote) As the smaller states feared that this plan would lose a voice in the federal government if they continued with the Virginia plan, they opposed this plan and came up with one for themselves which would be known as the “small-state plan.” The small-state plan would propose “a unicameral Congress, with equal representation for each state, with all the powers of the Confederation Congress.

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The motivations and goal of the Constitutional convention of 1787 was to reform the Articles of Confederation to allow a stronger centralized government, and hopefully to solve issues not yet agreed upon within the government. There was a significant lack of representation for smaller states. Shay’s rebellion showcased an economic class disparity. There was also a lack of balance in the powers and a weak national government made for the states to have conflicting rules with each other as well as too much power. Shay’s Rebellion was the main perpetrator of the revision.

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Numerous thoughts were proposed amid the drafting of the constitution however maybe none as vital as that of balanced governance. This thought is exemplified in James Madison's The Federalist. He additionally does this by demonstrating that the legislature must have fundamental measures to control itself. Both of the thoughts he bolsters in his paper show that he was an extraordinary supporter of the endorsement of

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Therefore, they created the legislative branch to draft and pass policy, the executive branch to approve (or disapprove) and implement said legislation, and a judicial branch to guarantee compliance with the Constitution. Additionally, the Framers understood that democracy was a fragile enterprise, with success and stability hinging on requirements of compromise and deliberation (Roche, 1961). Furthermore, the Framers envisioned that the United States political system punctuated by ‘balance’, where each branch of government appropriately asserts its authority and does not acquiesce to the whims of another (Lane and Oreskes,

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This proposal was presented in the form of fifteen resolutions that detailed reasons why the Articles of Confederation should be radically altered and plans for a strong National Government that could collect taxes and make and enforce laws. This was also the first document to produce a separation of powers into an executive, legislative, and judicial branch in a national government. Moreover, there is a feature of a bicameral legislature, which is two houses consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate would be based on state representation. The people of each state shall elect the first branch of the national legislature, and those that are selected shall select people in the second branch. The national legislature shall have the power to elect a national executive with the authority to execute the national laws and taxes.

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Obviously, smaller states were not pleased with that plan. They thought that larger states could easily overrule them in congress. So William Paterson created a plan called the New Jersey Plan. It as well had the same three branches but, the plan provided legislators to have only one house. Each state would only one vote in the legislator, regardless of the population.

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