A bicameral legislature is defined as one in which the legislators are divided into two separate assemblies, chambers or houses. This system is what we Americans use in order to create balance between the powers of its citizens, and it’s government. The Framers being our founding fathers, believed that we needed this system to help America not return to the same overpowering form of government that they left behind when they departed from the British. The Framers of the Constitution created a bicameral legislature as part of their efforts to create separation of powers and to more generally, make it harder for the government to do just about anything without its citizens at hand. Before the start of the American Revolution, the British levied
…show more content…
The Constitutional Convention is the gathering that drafted the Constitution of the United States in 1787. All states were invited to send delegates, and the convention, meeting in Philadelphia, designed a government with separate legislative, executive, and judicial branches in order to ensure separation of powers between citizens, states, and the government. At the convention, there were two plans that were being discussed in order to make one of them the initial way of representation among states. States held unequal representation in the national legislature and each delegate from each state still wanted to make sure that their state got just what they wanted and how they wanted …show more content…
This plan proposed a completely new Constitution and form of government by which power derived from the people. The new proposal consisted of two houses in the legislature. The lower house created representation according to the population of each state. The plan also included that the people would directly elect members of the lower house. The upper house would also established two representatives from each state. The lower house would elect representatives in the upper house. The scope of the powers was much greater under the Virginia Plan than under the Articles of Confederation. This plan gave the national legislature the rights to override state laws, and if necessary, enforce federal law by force. The second plan was the New Jersey Plan. Under this proposal, power was delegated to a unicameral legislature to raise revenue and regulate commerce. The states would also maintain equal representation in the national Congress and the power was derived from the states rather than the people. Similarly, the states would ratify the new Constitution rather than the people. The people against the Federalists were the primary supporters of the New Jersey Plan. This plan was simply a revision of the Articles of Confederation, and did not change the national government enough for the Federalists. The Convention did decide to go with the Virginia Plan, however, they did revise it so at the end, and it was not completely the same as the
The Constitutional Convention is the gathering that drafted the Constitution of the United States in 1787. All states were invited to send delegates, and the convention, meeting in Philadelphia, designed a government with separate legislative, executive, and judicial branches in order to ensure separation of powers between citizens, states, and the government. At the convention, there were two plans that were being discussed in order to make one of them the initial way of representation among states. States held unequal representation in the national legislature and each delegate from each state still wanted to make sure that their state got just what they wanted and how they wanted …show more content…
This plan proposed a completely new Constitution and form of government by which power derived from the people. The new proposal consisted of two houses in the legislature. The lower house created representation according to the population of each state. The plan also included that the people would directly elect members of the lower house. The upper house would also established two representatives from each state. The lower house would elect representatives in the upper house. The scope of the powers was much greater under the Virginia Plan than under the Articles of Confederation. This plan gave the national legislature the rights to override state laws, and if necessary, enforce federal law by force. The second plan was the New Jersey Plan. Under this proposal, power was delegated to a unicameral legislature to raise revenue and regulate commerce. The states would also maintain equal representation in the national Congress and the power was derived from the states rather than the people. Similarly, the states would ratify the new Constitution rather than the people. The people against the Federalists were the primary supporters of the New Jersey Plan. This plan was simply a revision of the Articles of Confederation, and did not change the national government enough for the Federalists. The Convention did decide to go with the Virginia Plan, however, they did revise it so at the end, and it was not completely the same as the