<P> Terms of office were not specified, but the executive and members of the popularly elected legislative chamber could not be elected for an undetermined time afterward . </P> <P> Additionally, the plan proposed that the legislative branch would have the power to negative (veto) state laws if they were deemed incompatible with the articles of union, or the states were deemed incompetent . </P> <P> The concept of checks and balances was embodied in a provision that legislative acts could be vetoed by a council composed of the executive and selected members of the judicial branch; their veto could be overridden by an unspecified legislative majority . </P> <P> The Virginia Plan and the debate surrounding it are prominently featured in the 1989 film A More Perfect Union, which depicts the events of the 1787 Constitutional Convention . Presented largely from the viewpoint and words of James Madison, the movie was mainly filmed in Independence Hall . </P>

Why were small states against the virginia plan