For nearly ten years the Articles of the Confederation had been in effect as the first agreement among the thirteen States since their independence from Britain. After that, it became evident that a new document for dictating how the new country should be organized had to be made. It was James Madison who presented a draft for a new government structure, aimed to give more power to a federal authority. The coalition that backed this draft was formed mostly by people from the State of Virginia, so it came to be known as the Virginia Plan.
The most important feature of this new Virginia Plan, was the idea of proportional representation of each State of the Union in the congress. Of course, smaller states would be especially concerned about this issue and New Jersey delegate William Patterson expressed his fears regarding the representation of smaller States relative to more populated ones and, along with representatives of other small States, presented a different draft that is now known as the New Jersey Plan. Although the latter was a counterproposal, it was in fact a mere revision of the Articles of the Confederation, and not a new proposal in its own right. Despite the marked differences between them, they both shared the idea of a government system divided in three branches: Executive, Legislative and Judiciary.
This paper will present and compare these two plans and establish the main differences between them, and determine which plan provided more powers to the federal government.
The Executive
The Virginia Plan proposed that the Congress appoint the executive power, and it would consist of one member who would serve for 7 years. Among the duties of the executive would be executing national laws and the appointing of certain offices. Although the congress remains the sole organ with authority to legislate, the executive would have the power to veto any legislative act. In case of impeachment, conviction of malpractices or neglect of duty, the executive could be removed from office.
The defenders of the New Jersey plan also proposed that the Congress elect the federal executive power, but it would be composed of several individuals. The number of people that would constitute the executive branch is not clear, but it was made clear that they could be removed by a majority of the executives of the States. They were empowered to execute federal acts, and to appoint all federal officers including the judges of the Supreme Tribunal. Although they could direct military operations, they did not have the authority to command any troops.
The Legislature
The national legislature, which would have the power of originating acts, was to be divided in two branches or houses. The members of the first house would be elected on popular elections held in every State. The plan does not establish any requirement for becoming a member of the first house but says one could only serve for three years. Members of the second house had to be 30 years old at least, and had to be elected by individual State legislatures. They would serve for seven years. The Virginia Plan gave more weight to larger States in the election of legislatures, establishing that participation would be proportional to quotas of contribution or the number of free inhabitants of every State. The Congress would be powerful enough to legislate in aspects where individual States were not competent and to veto laws passed by State legislatures.
As the proponents of the New Jersey Plan only wanted to revise the Articles of the Confederation, it was assumed that the legislative branch structure would remain untouched. The congress would have a delegation from every State, and each one would have one vote regardless of size or population. The members of the delegations would be appointed by their State legislature, and would serve only for 6 years. The Congress would conduct foreign political or commercial relations, and would be the only one with the authority to declare war. The Congress would also have some new prerogatives, such as the authority to collect tariffs from States, the power to regulate interstate and international commerce, and the right to use force against member States if they refused to observe the law. One shared feature this draft had with the Virginia Plan was that it proposed that the Congress would elect the executive branch.
The Judiciary
The Virginia coalition proposed that the second legislative branch appoint the judges of the Supreme Tribunal, and the legislature as a whole appoint all inferior tribunals. The judiciary branch would have the power to intervene in all cases regarding national revenue collection, impeachment of national officers, and any other that involved national peace and harmony.
The counter proposal suggested that it should be the duty of the executive to appoint the Supreme Tribunal. Agreeing with the Virginia Plan, it stated that the judiciary would have the authority to hear and determine on impeachments of federal officers, but could also hear cases of enemies captured, cases of piracy or felonies on the high seas, and cases where foreigners might have been interested. Moreover, it would also have competence in the construction of treaties, regulation of trade and the collection of federal revenue. In cases that involved touching the rights of ambassadors, there would be the possibility to appeal to the federal judiciary as a last resort.
The Federal Power
James Madison saw that the Articles of the Confederation gave too little power to the Union, so his proposal was to make it stronger. The problem was that in order to have a more powerful federal government, the States had to give up great part of their sovereignty. For this effect, the Virginia Plan gave the Congress the power to legislate and enforce laws, and to strike down State laws that were contrary to the constitution or the national well-being.
The New Jersey Plan was a lot more conservative, so it retained most of the features included in the Articles of the Confederation. There were some changes nonetheless. It would give the federal government the power to collect tariffs or regulate interstate trade. It proposed the appointing of several executives but it seemed as if they proposed an executive for every State, undermining the idea of a national executive power. Moreover, the requirement that every State should keep a well-equipped army, was against the idea of having one powerful and uncontested federal government.
Given these facts, it is clear that the Virginia Plan aimed for a more powerful unitary federation, with checks and balances for all branches of government, keeping any of the three powers from becoming dominant.
References
"Madison Debates: June 13." 13 June 1787. The Avalon Project. 09 October 2013.
"Madison Debates: June 15." 15 June 1787. The Avalon Project. 09 October 2013.
