Madison, James

Excerpt from "The Virginia Plan"

Delivered to the Constitutional Convention on May 29, 1787
Published in Documents of American History, edited by
Henry S. Commager, 1943

In February 1787, the Continental Congress was operating under the Articles of Confederation, America's first constitution. Congress authorized the thirteen state legislatures to elect delegates to a convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The convention's purpose was to revise and strengthen the Articles, which had proven inadequate as a framework for governing the young nation. The convention was scheduled to begin on May 14, but by that date only delegates from Pennsylvania and Virginia had arrived. Travel by horseback or carriage over roads muddied by spring rains was slow and difficult. Representatives from eight states needed to be present before the convention could begin.

While waiting for more delegates to arrive, Virginia's delegates, including James Madison (1751–1836), hammered out the Virginia Plan, a proposal for an entirely new structure of government for the United States. Although he was only thirty-six years old, Madison had experience in the political affairs of the nation. He had arrived in Philadelphia on May 3 and prepared extensively for the meeting. Madison had been reading all the information he could gather about how a government might serve its people and how it could be realistically put together. He had written to his good friend Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), who was serving as ambassador to France at that time, and asked him for books on European political histories. Jefferson responded by sending him one hundred volumes. Through his studies, Madison became convinced that it was useless to merely fix the Articles. Instead, he crafted and would propose to the convention the Virginia Plan, a plan to establish a new framework for the U.S. government.

At last, by Monday, May 28, enough delegates had arrived for the convention to get under way. With time for extensive planning during the two previous weeks, Virginia's delegates were in a position of leadership from the start. The most famous Virginian, George Washington (1732–1799), was elected president of the convention. Then on May 29 and 30, his fellow delegate, Virginia governor Edmund J. Randolph (1753–1813), read Madison's plan to the rest of the delegates. The plan contained fifteen relatively simple and very clear proposals for creating a strong national government. Most delegates favored a stronger national government, but the proposals in the Virginia Plan represented a radical change from the Articles. Even though Randolph presented the plan, everyone knew Madison was the principal author.

Congress had authorized the delegates only to revise the Articles, not entirely rewrite them. The Virginia Plan was obviously a call for a new constitution. The first major debates of the next week centered on the legality of replacing the Articles. A majority of states present at the convention voted on May 30 to boldly move forward with establishing a new frame of government.

In the Virginia Plan, Madison proposed that the national legislature be made up of two branches. For each branch, the number of representatives from each state would be based on the state's free (non-slave) population or on state monetary contributions to the national government. The monetary contribution basis was soon dropped. Representatives in the first branch of the legislature would be elected by the people. Members of the first branch would then elect representatives for the second branch of the national legislature, choosing from a list of persons nominated by the state legislatures.

The sixth proposal of the Virginia Plan was even more radical than a call for a two-branch legislature. It proposed the national legislature pass laws on issues that might cause conflict among the separate states. Under this proposal, the national legislature would also be allowed to negate state laws that in its opinion violated the intent of the Constitution. Most radical, Proposal 6 would allow the national government to use military force against states to force them to comply with its wishes.

Proposals 7, 8, and 9 of the Virginia Plan called for the legislature to elect a "national executive," the president, and judges to serve in the judiciary. In the eighth proposal was the first plan for a checks and balances system, where the specific powers in one branch of government would allow it to limit the powers of the other branches. Madison proposed a "council of revision" made up of the executive and a number of judges. The council could veto (cancel) legislative acts.

Proposal 10 requested that states be admitted to the union with less than a unanimous vote of the legislature. Under Proposal 12, the Continental Congress would continue until the new government was approved and took over. Proposal 13 allowed for changes to the Constitution when necessary. Finally, Proposal 15 called for people of each state to elect representatives to state conventions. Those representatives would be charged with approving or disapproving the new government framework.

Things to remember while reading excerpts from "The Virginia Plan":

• The Virginia Plan replaced the single-house Continental Congress with a two-house legislature. In both houses, the number of representatives from each state would be determined by the states' populations. This was a major change from the Articles, which allowed one vote for each state in the single-house Continental Congress. Under the Articles, small states and large states had equal power in Congress. Under the Virginia Plan, large states would have the most representatives in both houses and therefore hold much more power than small states. This one matter—determining the number of representatives each house would have—would consume more of the convention delegates' time than any other issue.
• The U.S. Constitution provides for two legislative branches: the House of Representatives and the Senate. In the House, the number of representatives from each state is determined by the states' populations. In the Senate, every state, regardless of its population, has two representatives.

Excerpt from "The Virginia Plan"

1. Resolved that the Articles of Confederation ought to be so corrected & enlarged as to accomplish the objects proposed bytheir institution; namely, "common defence, security of liberty and general welfare."

2. Resolved therefore that the rights ofsuffrage in the National Legislature ought to be proportioned to theQuotas of contribution, or to the number of free inhabitants, as the one or the other rule may seem best in different cases.

3. Resolved that the National Legislature ought to consist of two branches.

4. Resolved that the members of the first branch of the National Legislature ought to be elected by the people of the several States every [to be filled in] for the term of [to be filled in]; to be of the age of [to be filled in] years at least; to receiveliberal stipends by which they may be compensated for the devotion of their time to public service; to be ineligible to any office established by a particular State, or under the authority of the United States, except those peculiarly belonging to the functions of the first branch, during the term of service, and for the space of [to be filled in] after its expiration; to be incapable of reelection for the space of [to be filled in] after the expiration of their term of service, and to be subject torecall.

5. Resolved that the members of the second branch of the National Legislature ought to be elected by those of the first, out of a proper number of persons nominated by theindividual Legislatures, to be of the age of [to be filled in] years at least; to hold their offices for a termsufficient to ensure their independency; to receive liberal stipends, by which they may be compensated for the devotion of their time to public service; and to be ineligible to any office established by a particular State, or under the authority of the United States, except those peculiarly belonging to the functions of the second branch, during the term of service, and for the space of [to be filled in] after the expiration thereof.

6. Resolved that each branch ought to possess the right oforiginating Acts; that the National Legislature ought to be impowered [sic] to enjoy the Legislative Rightsvested in Congress bythe Confederation & moreover tolegislate in all cases to which the separate States areincompetent, or in which the harmony of the United States may be interrupted by the exercise ofindividual Legislation; tonegative all laws passed by the several States,contravening in the opinion of the National Legislature thearticles of Union; and to call forth the force of the Union against any member of the Union failing to fulfill its duty under the articles thereof.

7. Resolved that aNational Executive be instituted; to be chosen by the National Legislature for the term of [to be filled in] years, to receive punctually at stated times, afixed compensation for the services rendered, in which no increase ordiminution shall be made ... and that besides a general authority to execute the National laws, it [the executive] ought to enjoy the Executive rights vested in Congress by theConfederation.

8. Resolved that the Executive and a convenient number of the NationalJudiciary, ought to compose a Council ... with authority to examine every act of the National Legislature before it shall operate, & every act of aparticular Legislature before aNegative thereon shall be final; and that the dissent of the said Council shall amount to a rejection, unless the Act of the National Legislature be again passed, or that of a particular Legislature be again negatived by [to be filled in] of the members of each branch.

9. Resolved that a National Judiciary be established to consist of one or more supremetribunals, and of inferior tribunals to be chosen by the National Legislature, to hold their offices during good behaviour; and to receive punctually at stated times fixed compensation for their services, in which no increase or diminution shall be made so as to affect the persons actually in office at the time of such increase or diminution. That thejurisdiction of the inferior tribunals shall be to hear and determine in the first instance, and of the supreme tribunal to hear and determine in thedernier resort, all piracies and felonies on the high seas, captures from an enemy; cases in which foreigners or citizens of other States applying to such jurisdictions may beinterested, or whichrespect the collection of the Nationalrevenue; impeachments of any National officers, and questions which may involve the national peace and harmony.

10. Resolved that provision ought to be made for the admission of States lawfully arising within the limits of the United States ... with the consent of a number of voices in the National legislatureless than the whole.

11. Resolved that aRepublican government ... ought to be guarantied by the United States to each State.

12. Resolved that provision ought to be made for thecontinuance of Congress and their authorities and privileges, until a given day after the reform of thearticles of Union shall be adopted, and for the completion of all their engagements.

13. Resolved that provision ought to be made for theamendment of the Articles of Union whensoever it shall seem necessary. ...

14. Resolved that the Legislative[,] Executive & Judiciary powers within the several States ought to be bound by oath to support the articles of Union.

15. Resolved that the amendments which shall be offered to the Confederation, by the Convention ought at a proper time, or times, after theapprobation of Congress to be submitted to an assembly orassemblies of Representatives, recommended by theseveral to be expressly chosen by the people, to consider anddecide thereon.

What happened next...

In June 1787, the delegates debated the proposals of the Virginia Plan. New Jersey's delegates, led by William Paterson (1745–1806), offered an alternative called the New Jersey Plan. The nine resolutions of their plan revised and strengthened the Articles of Confederation. The resolutions included plans to strengthen Congress by allowing it to raise revenue with taxes and control trade between states and foreign powers. Like the plan proposed by Virginia's delegates, the New Jersey Plan called for executive, judicial, and legislative branches. However, the legislative branch would continue to operate as it had under the Articles—as one house with each state having one vote. The states with large populations opposed this plan. After a few days of heated debate, the New Jersey Plan was defeated and the Virginia Plan accepted. However, almost every proposal within the Virginia Plan had to be debated and reworked.

A major disagreement centered on how many representatives from each state should be in each house of Congress. This issue was the most difficult issue of the entire convention.James Madison of Virginia and James Wilson (1742–1798) of Pennsylvania insisted that in both houses the number of representatives from each state should be based on the population of the state. This arrangement would give populous states such as Virginia, New York, and Pennsylvania more power and influence in Congress, putting states with smaller populations at a definite disadvantage. The smaller states—Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, and Maryland—bitterly protested. They feared the plan would allow them almost no say in congressional decisions.

On July 5, the Connecticut Compromise, also known as the Great Compromise, was proposed by a committee that included New Jersey's Paterson and delegate Roger Sherman (1721–1793) from Connecticut. Under the compromise, the number of representatives in the lower house would be determined by each state's population—one elected representative for every forty thousand inhabitants (this number was changed to thirty thousand just before the Constitution was signed). Each state would have an equal number of representatives in the upper house. It was a brilliant, simple compromise. After more intense debate, both small and large states agreed to the Great Compromise.

Did you know...

• Although James Madison was the principal author of the Virginia Plan, it was Edmund Randolph who formally presented the plan at the Constitutional Convention. Randolph was the popular governor of Virginia and head of Virginia's delegation to the convention. He was an imposing, handsome figure, standing at least 6 feet tall. Madison, also a Virginian, was barely 5 feet, 4 inches, tall and did not have as powerful a presence as Randolph did. The Virginia delegates hoped that Randolph would win over some of those who might initially oppose the Virginia Plan. Randolph himself was undecided about whether he wanted a strong central government, but his fellow Virginians thought that if he presented the plan, he would be more likely to support it when it came to a vote. Ultimately, however, Randolph decided against the stronger national government proposed in the newly drafted constitution. When the day arrived for the delegates to put their names on the document, Randolph did not sign.
• Virginia was the most populous and powerful state, so it followed that Virginia would play a leading role at the convention. Four of the first five presidents of the United States would come from Virginia.
• The proposal for a two-house legislature was a radical departure from historical political theory. European political theory held firmly that power must rest in one legislature and a single head of government. A two-branch legislature was unheard of.
• Debate on the Virginia Plan proposals began on June 1 with Resolution 7. Resolutions 2 to 6 were the most controversial parts of the plan, so the delegates postponed discussing them for a week or so. Raising too much controversy at the beginning of the debate might have caused the convention to fail, and everyone knew that if the convention failed, the union would most likely fail.

Consider the following...

• If you were a delegate committed to keeping the state legislatures more powerful than the national legislature, which proposal of the Virginia Plan would have seemed highly offensive?
• Using your knowledge of how the U.S. government operates in the twenty-first century, find at least five statements within the fifteen proposals that were not part of the final draft of the Constitution signed in September 1787.

Resolved: Formally proposed.

Their institution: The United States.

Suffrage: Voting.

Quotas of contribution: State monetary contributions requested by Congress based on the wealth of the state.

Liberal stipends: Good pay.

Recall: Removal from office by vote of the people.

Individual: State.

Sufficient: Long enough.

Originating Acts: Proposing legislation.

Vested in: Given to.

Legislate: Make laws.

Incompetent: Unable to successfully legislate.

Individual Legislation: Laws passed by separate states.

Negative: Reject.

Contravening: Contradicting or violating.

Articles of Union: National constitution.

National Executive: President.

Fixed compensation: Salary.

Diminution: Decrease.

Confederation: Articles of Confederation.

Judiciary: Courts.

Particular: Specific state.

Negative: Rejection.

Tribunals: Judges.

Jurisdiction: Power to exercise legal authority.

Dernier: Last.

Interested: Involved.

Respect: Concern.

Revenue: Government income from taxes and other sources.

Impeachments: Formal charges of misconduct made against public officials.

Less than the whole: Not unanimous.

Republican government: A government operating by the consent of the people and for the benefit of the people through elected representatives.

Continuance of Congress: Continued service of the national legislature under the Articles of Confederation.

Articles of Union: Articles of Confederation.

Amendment: Change.

Approbation: Recommendation.

Assemblies of Representatives: Chosen delegates from each state.

Several: A reference to all of the states.

Decide thereon: Approve or not approve.

For More Information

Books

Berkin, Carol. A Brilliant Solution: Inventing the American Constitution. New York: Harcourt, 2002.

Commager, Henry S., ed. Documents of American History. New York: F. S. Crofts and Company, 1943.

Ferris, Robert G., and James H. Charleton. The Signers of the Constitution. Flagstaff, AZ: Interpretive Publications, 2001.

Mattern, David B. James Madison: Patriot, Politician, and President. New York: PowerPlus Books, 2005.