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. The New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan were reconciled by using both ideas in which the lower house of the legislature was represented by the basis of population, and the upper house would be equally …show more content…
The upper house would be elected by the lower house, thus ensuring that there is always at least one representative in the upper house. The New Jersey Plan preserved an existing unicameral legislature, in which each state would have equal representation. The compromise that was made called for a bicameral legislature, like the 1 Virginia Plan. However, the lower house number of representatives was determined by the size of the state, and the upper house each state had equal representation. This was just part of the Great Compromise, the subject of slavery had divided the Northern and the Southern states. The larger states, in favor of the Virginia Plan, were unsure of whether or not slaves were to be counted as part of the population or not. The Southern states wanted slaves to be counted as part of the population, but to also be considered as property, in case the new government was to levy taxes on each state on the basis of population. They also believed that even if slaves were to be counted as people, they still would not be granted citizenship or have the right to vote. Because the majority of the North did not have slaves, the South was in favor of having