A proposal by Virginia delegates during the Constitutional Convention of 1787, the Virginia Plan (also known as the Large State Plan ) was notable for its role in setting the overall agenda for debate in the convention and, in particular, for setting forth the idea of population-weighted representation in the proposed National Legislature.

The Constitutional Convention gathered in Philadelphia to revise and enlarge the Articles of Confederation , which had produced a weak and inadequate national government. The Virginia delegation took the initiative to frame the debate by immediately drawing up and presenting a proposal, for which delegate James Madison is given chief credit.It was, however, Edmund Randolph , another Virginia delegate, who officially put it before the convention on May 29 , 1787 , in the form of 15 resolutions

The scope of the resolutions, by going well beyond tinkering with the Articles of Confederation, succeeded in broadening the debate to encompass fundamental revisions to the structure and powers of the national government. The resolutions proposed, for example, a new form of national government having three branches—legislative, executive and judicial. The Virginia Plan proposed instead a legislative branch consisting of two chambers ( bicameral legislature ), in each of which the states would be represented in proportion to their “Quotas of contribution, or to the number of free inhabitants." States with a large population, like Virginia (which was the most populous state at the time), would thus have more representatives than smaller states. Large states supported this plan, and smaller states, which feared to lose substantial power in the national government, generally opposed it, preferring an alternative put forward by the New Jersey delegation on June 15 . The New Jersey Plan proposed a single-chamber legislature in which each state, regardless of size, would have one vote, as under the Articles of Confederation. In the end, the convention settled on the so-called Connecticut Compromise , creating a House of Representatives apportioned by population and a Senate in which each state is equally represented.

In addition to dealing with legislative representation, the Virginia Plan addressed other issues, as well, with many provisions not making it into the Constitution that emerged. It called for a national government of three branches—legislative, executive, and judicial. Members of one of the two legislative chambers would be elected by the people; members of that chamber would then elect the second chamber from nominations submitted by state legislatures. The Executive would be chosen by the legislative branch. Terms of office were unspecified, although the Executive and members of the popularly elected legislative chamber were to be limited to one term. The legislative branch would have the power to negate state laws in cases in which they were deemed incompatible with the articles of union. The concept of checks and balances was embodied in a provision that legislative acts could be vetoed by a council composed of the Executive and selected members of the judicial branch; their veto could be overridden by an unspecified legislative majority.

The New Jersey Plan was a proposal for the structure of the United States Government proposed by William Paterson on June 15 , 1787 . The plan was created in response to the Virginia Plan 's call for two houses of Congress, both elected with proportional representation . The less populous states were adamantly opposed to giving most of the control of the national government to the larger states, and so proposed an alternate plan that would have given one vote per state for equal representation under one legislative body. This was a compromise for the issue of the houses.

When the Connecticut Compromise was constructed, the New Jersey Plan's legislative body was used as the model for the United States Senate .

Under the New Jersey Plan, the organization of the legislature was similar to that of the modern day United Nations and other like institutions. This position reflected the belief that the states were independent entities, and, as they entered the United States of America freely and individually, so they remained.

The Connecticut Compromise of 1787 in the United States , also known as the Great Compromise , was one of the most important compromises reached in the United States Constitution . It created a bicameral, legislative body for the United States. The Great Compromise was to work out the degree of representation each state would have in Congress. After much arguing, the representatives decided that the Virginia Plan (a plan which was to be based on population) and the New Jersey Plan (a plan which called for equal representation) were to be combined. Roger Sherman (1721-1793) and Oliver Ellsworth , both from Connecticut , played a large role in constructing the Compromise, creating the Senate and House of Representatives .

The small states, with low populations, wanted their voices in the governing of the US to equal those of larger and more populated states like Virginia and New York . The more populous states, like Virginia, wanted representation in proportion to population. This way, they would have more control over what happened in America.

This resulted in a compromise that ended in the creation of the House of Representatives which was what the larger states wanted and the Senate which placated the smaller ones. Two representatives per state in the Senate and representatives according to population in the House. This also led to the Three-Fifths Compromise which gave slave owning states (whose populations of whites were low) the right to count each slave in their state as three-fifths of a person.