The New Jersey Plan was a proposal for the structure of the United States Government presented during the Constitutional Convention of 1787. It was an alternative to the Virginia Plan proposed by James Madison and Edmund Randolph of Virginia. Principally authored by William Paterson of New Jersey, the New Jersey Plan was designed to benefit small states such as New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. The key feature of the plan was giving equal power to every state, regardless of population. The plan proposed a unicameral (one-house) legislature with equal votes of states and an executive elected by a national legislature. The New Jersey Plan consisted of nine resolutions, including the revision of the Articles of Confederation to make them "adequate to the exigencies of Government and the preservation of the Union". However, the proposed increases were not sufficient to gain support from any of the more populous states. Ultimately, on June 19, 1787, delegates rejected the New Jersey Plan.