The founders of our country struggled when it came to creating a government that they

believed would benefit all thirteen of the colonies, without leaving anyone left out. Many
politicians began drafting what they felt were ideals of the perfect government for our country.
These plans were then presented to the delegates from the different states, the plans were
reviewed, and voted upon by the members of this committee. The two original plans presented to
the delegates of the states were the Virginia Plan, presented by the ideas of James Madison and
Edmund Randolph and the New Jersey Plan composed by a man by the name of William
Patterson. Sadly, neither one of these ideas were approved on, but they did create a basis for the
plan which did get the attention of all delegates, the Connecticut Compromise, presented by
Roger Sherman. The two original plans may not have been agreed upon by all delegates of the
state, but it did create a framework for a new plan to move ahead to create the government we
know today.
James Madison and Edmund Randolph got together and drafted a plan known as the
Virginia Plan, which favored a seriously strong national government to get us back on track. The
Virginia Plan, unlike our countries original form of government, the Articles of Confederation,
proposed that the national government would be able to collect taxes from the states and people.
This was something that the national government could have never done under the Articles of
Confederation. This would boost our economy drastically by being allowed to collect taxes for
specific goods. As well as being able to collect taxes, the Virginia Plan pushed for a two
government legislature that was based on the states population. The first branch of government
would be decided upon by the votes of the people in each state. However, the second branch of
government would be decided on by elected officials chosen by the people. This was sort of like
a domino effect, the first branch being decided by the voters and then those officials will choose
the officials for the second branch of government. This plan for government was favored highly
in states with larger populations such as Virginia. It gave a lot of power to larger states because it
would be based on states population, but it would give less representation to the smaller states.
The advantages of this plan was definitely finally having a government that could properly tax
without any hesitations. The downside of this plan was that the representation would not be
equally distributed between the states due to the difference in population among states.
A man by the named of William Patterson felt that he had come up with a plan that would
give the smaller populated states a better chance of representation, this plan was known as the
New Jersey Plan. This was plan was thought of as a way to sort of amend the Articles of
Confederation in a way. The New Jersey Plan proposed a single legislature that would give all
states, no matter the population size, equal representation in government. Many of the smaller
states highly desired a government that gave all states equal representation. However, the larger
states despised this form of government. The smaller states did not have as large of a population
as states such as Virginia. They believed by having a government based on the New Jersey plan,
they would have an equal shot to be represented in the government. However, this plan was not
agreed upon, based on the fact that it did not give larger states a chance to gain representation
based on population. It solely focused to help the smaller states and left the larger states in the
dust. The strong portion of this plan was that it completely amended the Articles of
Confederation and trying to propose equal government. However, it came crashing down when it
came to making a compromise with the larger states.

One final man came along, who thought both plans had something positive to offer to the
government plan, so he created a plan that balanced out both sides and created a compromise.
Roger Sherman proposed a plan known as the Connecticut Compromise, which is exactly what it
says in the name, a compromise between both large and smaller states. The Connecticut
Compromise, like the Virginia Plan, proposed a two legislature government and pushed for a
strong national government that would regulate the intake of taxes. The first legislative
government, the House of Representatives, would be based on the states population, therefore
helping out the larger states who had a higher population. The states would receive one
representative for every 30,000 people who lived in this state. Once elected into the House of
Representatives, the representatives would be allowed to serve a two-year term by law. The
second government branch, known today as the Senate, would be a system of equal
representation for all states, no matter the size of population. This would benefit the smaller
states of our country. The Senate would be composed of two representatives from each of the
states, an equal representation. Once elected into the Senate, senators would be allowed to serve
a six-year term by law. The Connecticut Compromise did what many people thought could never
occur, give national government the right to tax, but at the same time creating an equal balance
of government that both the larger and smaller states would appreciate. It gave equal opportunity
to all states to receive the representation in government that these states deserved.
Many people believed that our delegates would never come up with a compromise that
properly gave representation to all states equally. Two original plans by the names of the Virginia
Plan and the New Jersey plan both attempted to do this, but did not equally benefit both states.
Roger Sherman came along and grabbed ideas from both sides of the plans, to properly compose
a plan that would build a strong government, who could properly and equally represent its
people. He successfully did this too, this form of government, is a plan that the United States still
follows today. Roger Sherman helped propose one of the strongest and most efficient forms of
government known today. Each state is able to properly be represented, without fear of larger
states populations standing in the way of their representation. As well as giving our government a
right to regulate taxes, which boosts the economy, and creates a proper flowing, efficient
government system.