New Jersey Plan

Written By Jonathan Milner

Definition

At the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, there was a great debate over how representatives to the new government would be selected: the same number per state, or a certain number per state based upon the state’s population. A proposal at the Constitutional Convention made by William Paterson of New Jersey for a central government with a single-house (unicameral) legislature in which each state would be represented equally. The New Jersey Plan would have revised the Articles of Confederation to keep more power in the hands of the states instead of a centralized government. This plan also would have benefited states with smaller populations (New Jersey) who would have had as much political power as states with large populations (like Virginia). The New Jersey Plan was an attempt by the small states to keep the large states like Virginia from overwhelming them in the new government.

Example

 
 

Questions

  1. Use New Jersey Plan in a GoPo type of sentence: Please do not write, "I plan to go to New Jersey on my way to New York." That would make me mad. Especially if you posted it to the comments section below.

  2. Find an emoji or image that does a good job of capturing the meaning of the New Jersey Plan:

  3. What was the main reason the New Jersey Plan was proposed?

  4. What part of our current political system is a direct consequence of the New Jersey Plan?

  5. Have you ever been to New Jersey? Which exit?

  6. Imagine that the Virginia Plan never existed, there had not been any Connecticut Compromise, and the New Jersey Plan had been the way we elected all of our representatives. How would that have changed America?

  7. If you had to start the country over and choose between a New Jersey Plan style government by the states, or a Virginia Plan style government by the people, which would you choose and why?

  8. If New Jersey submitted a new 2016 New Jersey Plan, what would they want? *(Have fun with this one!)

  9. This is going to be very hard, but imagine the New Jersey Plan had won. Explain the impact of this on American politics.

  10. If we had a small state sponsored plan today what state would be a good exemplar of a small state?

Remember!

Now, let’s commit this term to our long-term memory. On a scrap piece of paper, take 10 or 20 seconds to draw the New Jersey Plan! Draw with symbols or stick figures if you wish. Nothing fancy. Don’t expect a masterpiece. No one else will see this but you. Look at your drawing. That’s all - now it’s downloaded into your memory. Destroy the piece of paper in a most delightful way.

Further Review

GoPo Glossary

Jonathan Milner

Civics Maven!

https://www.gopopro.com/
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