Which plan was designed to address the concerns of smaller states regarding representation?

The New Jersey Plan was specifically created to address the worries of smaller states about representation in the newly proposed government structure. During the Constitutional Convention of 1787, larger states favored the Virginia Plan, which proposed representation based on population, thus giving them greater power. In contrast, smaller states feared that their interests would be overshadowed and marginalized.

To counter this, the New Jersey Plan called for a unicameral legislature with equal representation for each state, regardless of size or population. This meant that every state would have one vote, ensuring that smaller states had an equal say in the legislative process. The plan provided a way to maintain a balance between the interests of both large and small states, ultimately leading to the Connecticut Compromise, which mixed elements of both the Virginia and New Jersey Plans. The New Jersey Plan is fundamentally important in understanding the debates over representation that shaped the structure of the legislative branch of the U.S. government.