Virginia Plan - wikipedia Virginia Plan This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 16 November 2017. Virginia Plan Front side of the Virginia Plan 1787 Created May 29, 1787 Location National Archives Author ( s ) James Madison Purpose Propose a structure of government to the Philadelphia Convention The Virginia Plan ( also known as the Randolph Plan, after its sponsor, or the Large - State Plan ) was a proposal by Virginia delegates for a bicameral legislative branch. The plan was drafted by James Madison while he waited for a quorum to assemble at the Constitutional Convention of 1787. The Virginia Plan was notable for its role in setting the overall agenda for debate in the convention and, in particular, for setting forth the idea of population - weighted representation in the proposed national legislature. Background The Constitutional Convention gathered in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation. The Virginia delegation took the initiative to frame the debate by immediately drawing up and presenting a proposal, for which delegate James Madison is given chief credit. However, it was Edmund Randolph, the Virginia governor at the time, who officially put it before the convention on May 29, 1787, in the form of 15 resolutions. The scope of the resolutions, going well beyond tinkering with the Articles of Confederation, succeeded in broadening the debate to encompass fundamental revisions to the structure and powers of the national government. The resolutions proposed, for example, a new form of national government having three branches ( legislative, executive and judicial ). One contentious issue facing the convention was the manner in which large and small states would be represented in the legislature : proportionate to population, with larger states having more votes than less - populous states, or by equal representation for each state, regardless of its size and population. The latter system more closely resembled that of the Articles of Confederation, under which each state was represented by one vote in a unicameral legislature. Principles The Virginia Plan proposed a legislative branch consisting of two chambers ( bicameral legislature ), with the dual principles of rotation in office and recall applied to the lower house of the national legislature. Each of the states would be represented in proportion to their `` Quotas of contribution, or to the number of free inhabitants. '' States with a large population, like Virginia ( which was the most populous state at the time ), would thus have more representatives than smaller states. Large states supported this plan, and smaller states generally opposed it, preferring an alternative put forward on June 15. The New Jersey Plan proposed a single - chamber legislature in which each state, regardless of size, would have one vote, as under the Articles of Confederation. In the end, the convention settled on the Connecticut Compromise, creating a House of Representatives apportioned by population and a Senate in which each state is equally represented. In addition to dealing with legislative representation, the Virginia Plan addressed other issues as well, with many provisions that did not make it into the Constitution that emerged. It called for a national government of three branches : legislative, executive, and judicial. Members of one of the two legislative chambers would be elected by the people ; members of that chamber would then elect the second chamber from nominations submitted by state legislatures. The executive would be chosen by the legislative branch. Terms of office were not specified, but the executive and members of the popularly elected legislative chamber could not be elected for an undetermined time afterward. The legislative branch would have the power to negate state laws if they were deemed incompatible with the articles of union. The concept of checks and balances was embodied in a provision that legislative acts could be vetoed by a council composed of the executive and selected members of the judicial branch ; their veto could be overridden by an unspecified legislative majority. The Virginia Plan References Jump up ^ Frantzich, Stephen E. ; Howard R. Ernst ( 2008 ). The Political Science Toolbox : A Research Companion to the American Government. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 24. ISBN 0 - 7425 - 4762 - 0. Jump up ^ Roche, John P. ( December 1961 ). `` The Founding Fathers : A Reform Caucus in Action ''. American Political Science Review. 55. Jump up ^ Ann Marie Dube ( May 1996 ). `` A Multitude of Amendments, Alterations and Additions ''. National Park Service. Jump up ^ Virginia Plan of Government, retrieved 2016 - 12 - 03 Jump up ^ `` Res ( olved ) that the members of the first branch of the National Legislature ought to be elected by the people of the several States every for the term of ; ___... to be incapable of reelection for the space of ___after the expiration of their term of service ; and to be subject to recall. '' Max Farrand, ed., The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787, 4 vols. ( New Haven : Yale University Press, 1911 ), 1 : 20. Jump up ^ `` Variant Texts of the Virginia Plan, Presented by Edmund Randolph to the Federal Convention, May 29, 1787. Text A '', The Avalon Project, Yale Law School, retrieved 2016 - 12 - 03 Wikisource has original text related to this article : Virginia Plan James Madison 4th President of the United States ( 1809 -- 1817 ) 5th U.S. Secretary of State ( 1801 -- 1809 ) United States House of Representatives ( 1789 -- 1797 ) Congress of the Confederation ( 1781 -- 1783 ) Virginia House of Delegates ( 1776 -- 1779, 1784 -- 1786 ) `` Father of the Constitution '' Co-wrote, 1776 Virginia Constitution 1786 Annapolis Convention 1787 Constitutional Convention Virginia Plan Constitution of the United States Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787 The Federalist Papers written by Madison No. 10 No. 51 Virginia Ratifying Convention United States Bill of Rights 27th amendment Constitution drafting and ratification timeline Founding Fathers Presidency First inauguration Second inauguration Tecumseh 's War Battle of Tippecanoe War of 1812 origins Burning of Washington The Octagon House Treaty of Ghent Seven Buildings residence results Second Barbary War Era of Good Feelings Second Bank of the United States State of the Union Address ( 1810 1814 1815 1816 ) Cabinet Federal judiciary appointments Other noted accomplisments Co-founder, American Whig Society Supervised the Louisiana Purchase Anti-Administration party Residence Act Compromise of 1790 Democratic - Republican Party First Party System republicanism Library of Congress Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions Report of 1800 Other writings The Papers of James Madison Life Early life and career Belle Grove Plantation, birthplace Montpelier Elections U.S. House of Representatives election, 1789 1790 1792 1794 U.S. presidential election, 1808 1812 Legacy and popular culture James Madison Memorial Building James Madison University James Madison College Madison, Wisconsin Madison Square Madison River Madison Street U.S. postage stamps James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation James Madison Freedom of Information Award James Madison Award James Madison Institute A More Perfect Union ( 1989 film ) Liberty 's Kids ( 2002 miniseries ) Hamilton ( 2015 musical ) Related Age of Enlightenment American Enlightenment Marbury v. 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Question: what document led to the formation of a bicameral legislature
Answer: The Virginia Plan