The Great Compromise solved a debate between sides. What were the two sides? The Constitutional Convention was split by large states and small states. The larger states supported the Virginia Plan, which had a bicameral, two house, Congress with both houses based on proportional representation, the amount of representatives a state gets is based of the population of it. This plan was written by James Madison and Edmund J. Randolph presented it to the convention on May 29, 1787 (constitutioncenter.org). The small states opposed this idea, they feared they would be "swallowed up" by the larger states. In response, they formed the New Jersey Plan, a unicameral, on house, Congress with equal representation, each state gets the same amount of votes. . William Paterson presented the plan to the convention on June 15, 1787 (constitutioncenter.org). The large states disliked this plan, because it gave a citizen from a their state a less influential vote than a citizen from a small state. The debate continued and the Constitutional Convention was at a standstill.