Which plan featured a bicameral Congress with a proportional lower house and an upper house with equal representation?

• A. Connecticut Compromise
• B. New Jersey Plan
• C. Virginia Plan
• D. Three-Fifths Compromise

Answer: (A)

That arrangement—the proportional lower chamber and an upper chamber with equal representation—comes from the Connecticut Compromise. At the Constitutional Convention, delegates argued over how to balance power between large and small states. The Virginia Plan favored representation by population in both houses, which would give bigger states more influence. The New Jersey Plan urged equal representation for each state but would have created a unicameral legislature. The Connecticut Compromise forged a two-chamber solution: the House of Representatives would be based on population, giving larger states more seats, while the Senate would grant each state two senators, preserving equal state representation. This combination lets the people’s representation reflect population while protecting state sovereignty in the upper chamber. The Three-Fifths Compromise addressed counting enslaved people for representation, not the structure of the two houses, so it doesn’t fit the described arrangement.