Virginia and New Jersey Plans

Virginia and New Jersey are two famous states in the United States. Nevertheless, they have diverse differences. For instance, there are disparities in the way of their structures, congressional representation, congressional power, the executive branch, and the judicial branch. Despite their divergence, these states have effectively managed their areas of jurisdiction. There are two documents that highlight the proposal for these states. The following paper compares and contrasts the state of Virginia and New Jersey as presented by the documents of the Virginia plan and the New Jersey plan.

Structural Differences

The Virginia plan proposes three branches of the government, namely legislature, executive, and judiciary. The possible major aim of dividing power in this structure is ending corruption. The countrywide administration should consist of two branches. The members of the first branch are to be elected by the people for a defined number of years. It forms the senate. The age limit is such that they can devote themselves to serve the society. Moreover, voters in each of the states elect the House of Representatives. These members are to serve a term of 3 years. However, the members of the second branch ought to be elected by those from the first house. Besides, they are expected to hold the office under the authority of the United States for up to 7 years.

On the other hand, the New Jersey plan proposes a one-chamber legislature that is wholly defined by the number of votes. Therefore, the only house is the Congress that constitutes of people voted as per the state. They are required to be not older than 36 years of age. A president can be elected from the Congress and he can serve a term of one year.

Congressional Representation

According to the Virginia plan, the congressional representation is purely based on the quota of contribution, or rather the total number of free inhabitants. In other words, population is the determining factor of representation. Consequently, there are states that are bound to benefit. For instance, the state of Virginia boasts of a large population and, therefore, would be largely represented. On the contrary, the smaller states are left out. The New Jersey plan advocates that each state has a one vote representation regardless of the size. This plan considered the article of confederation that sought to ensure equity among all the states. It is possible that New Jersey considered its small size in coming up with a plan. In other words, every state can only vote in favor of one person getting into the Congress. It highly opposes giving Congress a lot of power that could affect the progress of smaller states.

Congressional Power

The ‘Virginia plan’ gives the Congress the power to override the legislature. For instance, they can decide on the matters that are affecting all states irrespective of their representation. They also have the power of composing the supreme tribunal. However, the New Jersey plan proposed other additional powers for the Congress. For example, it gained the authority to raise money through imposing taxes on the population. It can also regulate the trade that is taking place in particular regions. Congress can also collect taxes from the states upon deliberation.

Executive Branch

The New Jersey plan advocates that executive members are to be elected by the Congress. They were to constitute a number of people who could not be reelected. However, an individual can be called back upon agreement by the majority of executives. Similarly, the Virginia plan proposes the national executive. The members are to be selected via the national legislature for a fixed term as greed. Moreover, a fixed compensation is to be given to them for the services they offer. They are to execute the national laws. However, the executive can only enjoy the rights granted to it by the Congress. The executive representatives together with a defined number of national judiciary representatives would also have a responsibility of creating a council of revision. Therefore, they would analyze every act of the national assembly prior to its operation.

Judicial Branch

According to the Virginia plan, the national judiciary system is to consist of one Supreme Court. The court has the mandate of giving the final judgment in any case. There are judges who act under the Supreme Court. They are appointed by the second house of the legislature. There are also inferior tribunals appointed by the legislature. The judiciary branch has the mandate of enforcing cases that occur in line with the revenue, impeachment, and national peace. It is also outlined that judiciary members only hold the offices while all the rules are enforced.

Similarly to the Virginia plan, the New Jersey plan requires that a supreme tribunal be put in place. It is an appointment of the federal government. Moreover, the court has the power to handle cases related to impeachment. This is also the court of last resort in the matters of national concern. The plan recognized the article of confederation to be the highest form of the constitution. However, provision was also given for the lower courts. Basically, the magistrates are to be appointed by the Congress. The courts handle the cases of issue that are faced daily.

Conclusion

The above discussion has given detailed highlights on the Virginia and New Jersey plans. It is evident that their structure, congressional representation, power, the executive branch, and judicial branch are very distinct. In spite of the differences, they both seek a plan that could work well for the nation. While Virginia plan focuses on the high levels of population, the New Jersey plan takes into consideration limited geographical and population factors. It is apparent that a compromise was reached based on which plan that could be implemented.