New Jersey Plan
New Jersey Plan, a group of proposals presented by William Paterson of New Jersey to the Constitutional Convention on June 15, 1787. Paterson's plan was made in rebuttal to the Virginia Plan, which provided for a very strong central government and representation by population.
The New Jersey Plan provided that Congress might levy duties and regulate trade. It proposed that Congressional acts and treaties be the supreme law of the land, and that a federal judiciary be created. However, it provided for only one house of Congress, with each state having equal representation. It also proposed a plural executive (that is, more than one person to head the government), elected and removable by Congress.
The plan was voted down on June 19 as being partial to small states and a hindrance to the establishment of a workable federal government. Eventually the delegates arrived at a compromise between the rival plans.