c) Proportional to state population

Legislative representation in the Virginia Plan, proposed during the Constitutional Convention, was based on the demographic factor of state population. This plan, favoring larger states, suggested that representation in both houses of the national legislature should be proportional to the population size of each state. The Virginia Plan’s approach to representation was a departure from the equal representation of states under the Articles of Confederation and was a key issue of debate at the Convention. The plan ultimately influenced the structure of the U.S. House of Representatives in the bicameral system established by the Constitution.