Exciting Insights into the Great Compromise and the Founding of Congress

Do you know which plan called for 3 branches of government and how it led to the creation of the current structure of Congress?

Final answer:

The Virginia Plan called for three branches of government and a bicameral legislature, while the New Jersey Plan proposed a unicameral legislature with equal state representation. The dispute was resolved with the Great Compromise, which combined aspects of both plans into the current structure of Congress.

Explanation:

The plan that called for three branches of government was the Virginia Plan. This plan was proposed by James Madison and called for a bicameral legislative branch. In contrast, the New Jersey Plan, proposed by William Paterson, called for a unicameral legislature with equal representation for each state.

The debate over these plans highlighted differences in state interests, and it led to the Great Compromise, where Congress would consist of two chambers: the Senate, with equal representation for each state, and the House of Representatives, with representation based on population.

The smaller states opposed the Virginia Plan because it would provide more populous states greater influence in both houses of the National Legislature. To address this concern, the Great Compromise included elements from both the Virginia and New Jersey plans, creating the two-chambered Congress we know today.