Under the Articles of Confederation, the national government was a league of independent states rather than a government that acted directly on individual citizens. Each state, regardless of its population, had one vote in Congress. The Articles established a single national Congress but no separate executive or national judiciary. Congress could exercise only those powers specifically granted by the Articles, and major decisions required the approval of nine of the thirteen states. These limits reflected the immediate aims of the conflict with Britain, consisting in the independent self-government of the former colonies. Only amendments could endow the confederation with powers not expressly granted in the Articles, and amendments required the near-impossible approval of all thirteen state legislatures, each of which prioritized its state’s preferences over the national interest. James Madison was concerned that the state legislatures — dominated by what he saw as unjust and overbearing majorities — were passing laws that infringed upon religious, economic, political, and even natural rights. As he wrote in his “Vices of the Political System of the United States,” there was nothing that the general government could do about such laws because the Articles left these matters to the states. The solution, concluded Madison, was to create a general government that possessed all three essential powers—legislative, executive, and judicial—and could act directly upon individuals rather than just upon states. It would take some time, however, before a majority of American political leaders would see the need for such a radical solution. Between 1781 and 1786, several unsuccessful attempts were made “to correct these errors” by merely amending the Articles. Following Madison’s suggestion of January 21, 1786, the Virginia legislature invited all the states to discuss ways to reduce commercial conflicts between the states in September 1786 at Annapolis, Maryland. The “commissioners” endorsed a bold motion that the state legislatures select delegates to meet in Philadelphia “on the second Monday in May next.” Madison persuaded the Virginia legislature to implement the challenge of the Annapolis Convention and invite the other states to reconsider the Articles. He also persuaded the Assembly to be the first to elect delegates to the Grand Convention.  New Jersey, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Delaware, and Georgia followed suit. This document collection of Madison’s notes has been designed for the secondary and postsecondary audience.  Each entry contains a contextual introduction, discussion questions, a curated version of Madison’s notes for the day, and links to referenced documents. For a broader view of the Constitutional Convention, please review our Constitutional Convention exhibit in Teaching American History’s Digital Atlas.