Johnny Huang
GSI: Shad Turney
Political Science 1
February 19, 2017
Paper 1
Coming out of the Revolutionary War, Americans feared a strong, centralized power that could easily be abused Great Britain. As a result, they passed the Articles of Confederation, calling for a extremely, decentralized federal government. However, the faults of a decentralized government soon became apparent. James Madison was one of the first Founding Fathers first founding father to recognize the need for a stronger, centralized government in order for this new nation to survive. Madison’s Virginia Plan, baring many similarities to the Constitution that we have today, setting up the groundwork for a more centralized government. However, I would disagree with the critic that “The U.S. would be much better off today if the Founders had simply adopted the Virginia Plan proposed by Madison,” as it lacked a proper system of checks and balances within the federal government and disadvantaged particular groups of Americans.
The Virginia Plan laid the groundwork for the legislature branch that we have today: a bicameral legislature with a upper and lower house. The plan called for the lower chamber to be elected directly the people, similar to the House of Representatives. However, it differed from the current system in that the lower house then elected the executive, courts and upper chamber. This created a system of unified control; all branches of the government would likely be under a one party control, as whoever the majority party in the lower house would elect officials and have majority in all the other branches of government. This system created an efficient, representative government.
It was efficient in that there would be little disagreement amongst the branches. Although the executive branch had the power to veto legislation passed by the legislature, it was unlikely because the executive branch was elected by the majority in the legislature. Legislation would pass much faster and compromise wouldn’t be necessary. This efficiency allowed the federal government to respond to national problems, such as foreign attacks and wars, quickly. In contrast with the Articles of Confederation, where there was not a federal army, but rather state militias, which was extremely inefficient in responding to foreign attacks on the nation, and the federal government was limited only to foreign affairs, not having much say domestically. Under the Virginia Plan, this uniformity did not just exist within the federal government but also the nation as a whole. The federal legislature had the power to veto state legislation that conflicted with the national laws. Without conflicts amongst states, the nation can worked efficiently and collectively towards a shared goal.
It was representative in that the government directly represented what the majority of the nation wanted. With the lower chamber of the legislature elected proportionally to population, the lower chamber’s choice of officials for the other branches of government would indirectly represent the popular vote. As a result, the government will be able to easily enact changes that reflect what the majority of the population wants. This gave opportunities to the working class who outnumbers the stronger elites. The elites have more wealth and as a result more power and influence, so in a way, proportional representation gave opportunity to the ‘minority,’ by allowing the minorities to group together and enact change.
However, with a strong, centralized government comes many problems. Although the government under the Virginia Plan would be representative of what the majority of Americans want, it does not give opportunity to the minority groups to express their concern and have a chance of enacting change. With all the branches of government elected on proportionality, the bigger and more populous states have more power than the smaller states. In these cases, the bigger states would be able to determine legislation that would effect the smaller states. With the national legislature having the power to veto state legislations, the minority would have even less power to voice their concerns. This would be the equivalent of the urban, industrialize cities deciding legislation for the rural, agricultural towns or vice versa. Neither cases would be ideal; however, each group must have a fair chance of getting heard. The government needs to find a balance between compromise and efficiency. The uniformity imposed by the Virginia Plan may be beneficial in terms of efficiency of the government, but efficiency should not overshadow the overall well-being of the people.
In addition, individual states need to be able to pass legislation that would reflect the needs of it’s people. With the federal government being able to veto state laws, this isn’t possible. There needs to be a balance in power between state and national government. The federal government must have enough power that it will be able to resolve national problems, but not too much power that could result in a tyranny like the one they experienced under British rule. With the United States becoming more diverse and growing, it is very difficult for the national government to create legislations that will satisfy and work in every state. However, states should not be given too much power, such as in the Articles of Confederation where the nation becomes fragmented. There needs to be rules and limits set upon the states in order to preserve the unity of the country; however, the state must be able to conduct legislation that is best tailored to the wants of the people of the state.
I do not believe that the U.S. would necessarily be better off today had it adopted by the Virginia Plan. The Virginia Plan was focused on giving more power to the national government over the state government as a response to the decentralized federal government of the Articles of Confederation. Madison wanted to solve the inefficiency of the Articles of Confederation by giving the national government more power over the state. However, there needs to be a balance between the two. I believe the current government is a perfect example of a symbiotic relation between state and national powers. The federal government has the power the enforce taxes, allowing it to fund national projects and defend the nation from foreign attacks; while states have the power to make and enforce their own laws, as long as they are inlines with the Constitution. This has become especially important in our modern day society with such a vast range of Americans and constituencies. One modern example of this would be the legalization of marijuana. In some states like Colorado, marijuana plays a vital role in it’s economy. As a result, the residents of Colorado support the legalization. In other states, however, their economy is not reliant on the plant but rather on other businesses. In these states, marijuana is legalized to some extent such as for medical uses or not at all, depending on what the states wish. In these situations, the federal government would not have to waste their time on trivial matters and can focus on more important aspects that would affect the overall well-being of the nation.
As a compromise between the larger and smaller states, the legislative branch under the Constitution kept the Virginia Plan’s bicameral legislature with the House of Representatives, where representatives are elected proportionally, and the Senate, where it is equally divided by two Senators per state. This gives the smaller states a chance to have an equal say in the government. The importance of this is even greater in the present time. With most of the United States population focused in the first few biggest states, representative would only focus on these populous states while leaving the other states to be second-class states. Under the Constitution, these states that are less populous play a bigger role in elections than under the Virginia Plan. This can be seen during presidential elections, where many of the smaller, swing states play key roles in winning the election.
Looking at the bigger picture, even though the Virginia Plan may not have worked under the current society, the importance of the Virginia Plan in laying the groundwork for the Constitution cannot be overstates. It set forth the idea that a strong, centralized government is important. A strong federal government acts as a glue that holds the whole nations together and overall, makes it stronger. However, the federal government under the Virginia Plan, would not have worked today. The government should not be a battle between smaller and larger states. This may have been possible when the United States was just thirteen colonies along the east coast; however, today, the United States is made up of fifty states, crossing from the east coast to the west coast of the North American continent. There must be a proper balance between the federal and state government, because we all know from common kindergarten arts and craft knowledge that more glue does not necessarily mean the bond is stronger. There needs to be a proper balance of the two.