ion, now known as the Virginia Plan. It was the first major step in shifting the focus of deliberations from fixing the confederation to reconsidering the requirements of a national union, and it provoked the proposal of the New Jersey Plan, which advocated state power. With a bicameral legislature, two houses would exist within the government. The Great Compromise stipulated that a lower chamber (House of Representatives) would be composed of representatives based on population, while an upper chamber would consist of equal representation for every state. The authority to levy taxes was reserved to the lower chamber as well. This was one of the ways the framers of the Constitution ensured against the abuse of delegated authority while pursuing the effective collective action they needed. The framers feared that a concentration of power in any one group or branch of government would lead to tyranny. In an effort to avoid the domination of government by one group, they devised the system of checks and balances in the Constitution. In this system, each of the three branches has some capacity to limit the power of the other two. It largely originated with the French philosopher Charles de Montesquieu, who argued that the power to govern could be effectively limited by dividing it among multiple branches of government. For example, while Congress passes legislation, the president can veto that legislation, and courts can declare executive acts unconstitutional. The executive was decidedly to be chosen in a manner that exercised the states rights as the electoral college was created. This inspired political parties, for there was no other easy way to gain the majority of electors. The framers also agreed to include the Bill of Rights in the Constitution to ensure that citizens would not be tyrannized by the powerful elite.The framers created multiple ways to amend the Constitution so that power did not rest too heavily upon one group. One wa...
