Question

At the Constitutional convention, smaller states supported the New Jersey delegation's plan for government. Why did small states like this plan?

Question 11 options:

The New Jersey plan called for a legislature that would be represented based upon population of each state.


The New Jersey plan called for a bicameral legislature with one house's representation based upon population and another house's representation based upon equality.


The New Jersey plan called for a direct democracy in which all citizens would directly vote upon any Acts presented in Congress.


The New Jersey plan called for a legislature in which the number of representatives would be equal for each state.

Answer 1

The right answer is the last one: The New Jersey plan called for a legislature in which the number of representatives would be equal for each state. The New Jersey Plan was proposed by William Paterson in response to the Virginia Plan, which called for a bicameral (two houses) legislature in which the states would be represented based on their population - consequently, more populous states, such as Virginia, would have more representatives, and therefore more power, than their smaller counterparts, such as New Jersey. For that reason, the New Jersey Plan called for an unicameral (one house) legislature in which all states would be represented equally.