The New Jersey Plan, also known as the Small State Plan or Paterson Plan, was a proposal presented at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 by William Paterson, a delegate from New Jersey. It was designed to protect the interests of smaller states like New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland, which feared losing influence under a system that based representation on population size
. Key features of the New Jersey Plan included:
- A unicameral (one-house) legislature where each state would have equal representation, with one vote per state, regardless of population. This was intended to prevent larger states from dominating the government
- Retaining and amending the Articles of Confederation rather than replacing them, emphasizing a federal system where states retained significant sovereignty
- Giving Congress expanded powers, including the ability to tax, regulate commerce between states and internationally, and enforce its laws as the supreme law of the land
- Establishing a stronger executive branch elected by Congress and a national judiciary to enforce laws
- Provisions for admitting new states, defining citizenship, and ensuring equal treatment of citizens across states
The New Jersey Plan was presented as an alternative to the Virginia Plan, which proposed a bicameral legislature with representation based on population, favoring larger states. Although the New Jersey Plan was ultimately rejected in favor of the Virginia Plan, its principles influenced the Great Compromise, which created the current U.S. Congress structure: a Senate with equal representation for states and a House of Representatives based on population
. In summary, the New Jersey Plan sought to preserve equal state power in the federal government through a unicameral legislature with equal votes per state, while strengthening Congress's powers and creating executive and judicial branches
