Virginia Plan

On May 29, 1787, Edmund Randolph presented the Virginia Plan to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, drawing heavily on James Madison's preparatory work. The proposal called for a national government with a bicameral legislature based on population and a national executive and judiciary. By putting the Virginia Plan before the convention at the outset, Randolph shifted the debate away from merely amending the Articles of Confederation.

The Virginia Plan intensified the central constitutional question at Philadelphia: would the United States remain a confederation of equal states or become a national republic operating directly on individuals. Large-state delegates favored the plan because proportional representation would reward population, while small-state delegates feared domination by Virginia and Pennsylvania. The proposal therefore forced the convention to confront sovereignty, representation, and federal power in explicit terms from its first week.

The Virginia Plan became the foundation for months of debate that eventually produced the Great Compromise and the final Constitution of September 1787. Even where the convention rejected details of Madison's design, the Virginia Plan set the agenda for creating a stronger national government.