The Virginia Plan, largely formulated by Madison, provided for paramountcy of the national government over the states. Representation in the national legislature would be based on popular election. While the separation of powers was part of the Plan, federalism—state sovereignty and representation in the national system of government—was not. Two groups of states objected. The smaller states demanded equality of representation in the upper house of the bicameral legislature, and the slave states demanded an increment in voting power in the lower house, based on their slave population. The larger states capitulated, and federalism was reintroduced into the C onstitution, with equality of state representation in the Senate and the three-fifths increment for slave states in the House. The Electoral College system for choosing the executive also reflected the federal character of the constitutional design.