New Jersey Plan facts for kids
The New Jersey Plan (also known as the Small State Plan) was an idea for how the United States Government should be set up. William Paterson from New Jersey suggested it on June 15, 1787. This happened during a big meeting called the Constitutional Convention.
The plan was created because of another idea called the Virginia Plan. The Virginia Plan wanted Congress to have two parts, and the number of lawmakers from each state would depend on its population. Smaller states worried this would give bigger states too much power. So, the New Jersey Plan offered a different way. It wanted to keep the "one state, one vote" system that was used before under the Articles of Confederation.
James Madison and Edmund Randolph, who supported the Virginia Plan, did not agree with the New Jersey Plan.
What the New Jersey Plan Proposed
The New Jersey Plan suggested keeping a single group of lawmakers, called a unicameral legislature. In this group, each state would have just one vote. This idea came from the Articles of Confederation. It showed that people believed states were independent. They joined the United States freely and should stay equal.
Here are some of the main ideas proposed in the New Jersey Plan:
- The rules for the country, called the Articles of Confederation, should be updated.
- Congress would get new powers. It could collect money through tariffs (taxes on imported goods) and other ways. It could also manage trade between states and with other countries. State courts would still handle cases about these powers, unless they were appealed to a higher federal court.
- Congress could collect taxes from states. The amount would be based on how many free people lived there, plus three-fifths of the enslaved people. However, a certain number of states would need to agree to this tax.
- Congress would choose a group of leaders to run the country. These leaders could not be chosen again and could be removed by Congress if most state leaders asked for it.
- A top court, called the Supreme Tribunal, would be created. This court would handle federal impeachment cases (removing officials from office). It would also be the final court for important national issues, like treaties.
- The Articles of Confederation and treaties would be the highest laws in the land. This was an early idea for what is now called the Supremacy Clause. The national leaders could even use force to make states follow these laws.
- There should be a clear way to add new states to the country.
- There should be one national rule for how people become citizens (called naturalization).
- If a person from one state committed a crime in another state, they could be tried under the laws of that state.
Other ideas also suggested that state governments should promise to support the Articles. There should also be rules for solving land disagreements between states. And, what counts as treason (betraying one's country) should be clearly defined.
What Happened to the Plan?
In the end, the New Jersey Plan was not chosen as the main idea for the new Constitution. The Virginia Plan was used instead. However, some important ideas from the New Jersey Plan were added. This happened as part of a deal called the Great Compromise.
One of the most important ideas came from the Connecticut Compromise. This compromise created a bicameral legislature. This means Congress would have two parts:
- The U.S. House of Representatives would have members based on population, as the Virginia Plan wanted.
- The Senate would give each state an equal number of votes, as the New Jersey Plan wanted.
Images for kids
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William Paterson, who helped write the New Jersey Plan
