On May 29, 1787, Virginia delegate Edmund Randolph proposed "The Virginia Plan". It is a text written primarily by James Madison that provided guidance and important points for the subsequent Constitution of the United States. One of these points was to create a national government divided into three branches to avoid abuse of power. As amended, the "Virginia Plan" poses bicameral legislature. A chamber composed of people chosen by the people; and another, composed of leaders elected by state legislatures.
"The New Jersey Plan" was presented as a different alternative to the Virginia Plan in relation to the structure of the federal government. It was presented to the Constitutional Convention by William Paterson, a delegate from New Jersey, on June 15, 1787. This Plan proposed that each state have one vote in Congress regardless of the number of inhabitants. This was to protect the equality of states regardless of population size.
Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth were delegates from Connecticut to the Constitutional Convention. On July 16, 1787 they propose a plan to establish a two-chamber legislature. This proposal was intended to implement a dual system of representation.The "Great Commitment," or the "Connecticut Compromise" was a way of solving debates and tensions between the larger and smaller states regarding the way in which they were represented in the Senate. The large states argued that representation in the Senate should be based proportionally on the contribution each state made to the finances and defense of the nation. For their part, the smaller states proposed that there be equal representation by all states in the Senate. The "Connecticut Compromise" defines that each State would have positions in the House of Representatives proportionally to its population. In the case of the Senate, all states would have the same number of representatives.
The "bicameral legislature" is a governmental form in which the legislature comprises two chambers. Its origins date back to the seventeenth century in England when constitutional governments emerge. This type of legislature is implemented in several countries in Europe at the end of the 18th century, as well in the United States.