The Constitutional Convention: Ah, the Constitutional Convention. Where would we be without the guidance of some of the greatest minds in the country meeting together in a stuffy courthouse in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the hot summer of 1787? Well, I'd imagine that we'd still be trying to function with the faulty Articles of Confederation, until our country tears itself apart. They met there for the sole purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation, and ended up bringing a new Constitution to the public at the end of the convention.

Some Notables: There are many famous people that went to this famed event, with James Madison providing input and taking detailed notes on the experience, and George Washington presiding over the entire thing as the President of the Convention. Other important people that attended included Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Roger Sherman, and others. Some people that were unable to attend were Thomas Jefferson, John and Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and any representative from Rhode Island. However, this last one was for the distinct reason that they did not think that the government needed to change the Articles of Confederation because they wanted to keep the amount of power that the small state couldn't get under a population-based legislature.

The Plans:

Virginia

New Jersey

Connecticut (Great Compromise)

Plans:

There were three main plans: Virginia, New Jersey, and Connecticut. The Virginia Plan gave the power to the big states by making the legislature fully population-based. The New Jersey Plan favored the small states as it gave them as many representatives as big ones. However, Roger Sherman came in with the Connecticut Compromise, favoring both big and small states with a bicameral legislature that has one section that is population-based and one section that is based on equal representatives. The population-based part meant that for every certain number of people in a state, they would be allowed one more legislator. The House of Representatives practices this mode of representation. This legislature style is still around today.