William Patterson of New Jersey came up with the New Jersey Plan, which was considered the small-state plan during the Constitutional Convention. It called for a unicameral (single house) legislature where every state got one vote, regardless of size. It was considered a mere revision of the Articles of Confederation, though Patterson did call for the federal government to be able to overturn state laws whenever it saw fit. Larger states such as Virginia thought this plan unfair, as the people who lived in smaller states would have more political power than those in larger states. James Madison created the Virginia Plan to counteract this--he wanted representation in Congress to be based on population. It appeared as though there would be a deadlock until Roger Sherman created the Great Compromise which created our bicameral (two house) legislature. Each state would get two seats in the Senate. State population would play a role in representation in the House of Representatives.
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