New Jersey Plan facts for kids
The New Jersey Plan was an important idea for how the U.S. government should work. It was suggested during a big meeting called the Constitutional Convention in 1787. This plan was mainly written by William Paterson from New Jersey.
It offered a different way of organizing the government compared to the Virginia Plan. The Virginia Plan was proposed by James Madison and Edmund Randolph from Virginia.
Smaller states worried that the Virginia Plan would give too much power to larger states. This was because the Virginia Plan wanted to base representation in Congress on a state's population. So, the New Jersey Plan suggested that each state should have an equal say, just like under the older Articles of Confederation.
Even though the New Jersey Plan wasn't chosen, it led to a compromise. This compromise, called the Connecticut Compromise, combined ideas from both plans. It created the U.S. Congress we have today. This includes the Senate, where all states have equal votes, and the House of Representatives, where votes are based on population.
What the New Jersey Plan Suggested
On May 29, 1787, the Virginia Plan was introduced. It suggested that states with more people should have more representatives in Congress. This idea worried smaller states like Connecticut, Delaware, and New Jersey. They feared their voices would not be heard.
To address these concerns, William Paterson from New Jersey stepped forward. He worked with others, including Roger Sherman from Connecticut. On June 15, they presented the New Jersey Plan.
This plan suggested keeping a single legislative body, much like the old Congress of the Confederation. However, it would give this body much more power. The main idea was that every state, no matter its size, would have an equal number of votes. This showed that states saw themselves as independent partners in the new country.
Here are some key ideas from the New Jersey Plan:
- The existing Articles of Confederation should be updated.
- Congress would get new powers to collect money through tariffs (taxes on imported goods). It could also manage trade between states and with other countries.
- Congress could collect taxes from states based on their population. This included counting a portion of enslaved people for tax purposes. However, states would need to agree to these taxes.
- A group of people, not just one person, would lead the country. Congress would choose these leaders. They could not be re-elected right away and could be removed by Congress if states requested it.
- A Supreme Court would be created. This court would handle important national issues and appeals.
- National laws and treaties would be the highest laws in the land. The leaders could even use force to make sure states followed these laws.
- Rules for adding new states to the country should be made.
- A single set of rules for naturalization (becoming a citizen) should be created.
- If a person committed a crime in another state, they could be tried under that state's laws.
Other ideas included making state governments promise to support the national laws. They also wanted rules for solving disagreements between states about land. And they wanted to clearly define serious crimes against the country.
The Big Debate
After the New Jersey Plan was presented, delegates debated it for four days. Even though it gave Congress more power, larger states still didn't support it. They wanted representation based on population.
During this time, Alexander Hamilton also shared his own ideas. He suggested a government similar to the British system. However, his plan wasn't discussed much. Everyone's focus returned to the New Jersey Plan.
Delegates from larger states strongly disagreed with the New Jersey Plan. Surprisingly, even some delegates from smaller states didn't fully defend it.
On June 19, the delegates voted. The New Jersey Plan was rejected. Only three states voted for it, while seven voted against it. Some historians believe the smaller states might have proposed the New Jersey Plan as a strategy. They wanted to show that they would never accept the Virginia Plan's idea of population-based representation. This helped push for a compromise.
After the New Jersey Plan failed, the delegates kept discussing how states should be represented. They looked for a way to combine the best parts of both plans. This led to the Connecticut Compromise. Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth introduced this important idea.
The Connecticut Compromise created a two-house (bicameral) legislature. One house, the House of Representatives, would have members based on population, like the Virginia Plan wanted. The other house, the Senate, would give each state equal votes, just as the New Jersey Plan suggested. This compromise was approved on July 16, and it's how our Congress works today!
See also
- History of the United States Constitution
- Timeline of drafting and ratification of the United States Constitution
Images for kids
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A diagram showing the main ideas of the New Jersey Plan.
