Letter from James Madison to His Father (1787)

Q: Introduction

This letter is part of our Four-Act Drama, a Constitutional Convention role-playing scheme for educators. For more information on our comprehensive exhibit on the Constitutional Convention, click here. On July 16, 1787, the Connecticut Compromise was approved by delegates at the Constitutional Convention, resolving a weeks-long impasse between large and small state delegations regarding representation in the legislature. With this critical issue settled, delegates resumed discussion of the remaining resolutions from the amended Virginia Plan. By late July, the Convention established the Committee of Detail and selected its members: Oliver Ellsworth (1745–1807), Nathaniel Gorham (1738–1796), Edmund J. Randolph (1753–1813), John Rutledge (1739–1800), and James Wilson (1742–1798). Charged with the responsibility to “prepare and report the Constitution,” the Committee worked to organize and refine the various proposals debated earlier in the Convention. While the Committee worked, the Convention adjourned, agreeing to reconvene by August 6 to review the Committee’s report. The two-week adjournment, referred to as the Four-Act Drama’s intermission, provided a pause in Convention proceedings to consolidate deliberations into a cohesive framework. While the Convention made crucial progress throughout the late summer, some delegates remained uncertain about the direction of the proposed government and its eventual reception by the public. When the Convention reconvened, the Committee of Detail’s report became the focus of the proceedings, marking the next phase of the delegates’ work.

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Introduction

This letter is part of our Four-Act Drama, a Constitutional Convention role-playing scheme for educators. For more information on our comprehensive exhibit on the Constitutional Convention, click here.

On July 16, 1787, the Connecticut Compromise was approved by delegates at the Constitutional Convention, resolving a weeks-long impasse between large and small state delegations regarding representation in the legislature. With this critical issue settled, delegates resumed discussion of the remaining resolutions from the amended Virginia Plan.

By late July, the Convention established the Committee of Detail and selected its members: Oliver Ellsworth (1745–1807), Nathaniel Gorham (1738–1796), Edmund J. Randolph (1753–1813), John Rutledge (1739–1800), and James Wilson (1742–1798). Charged with the responsibility to “prepare and report the Constitution,” the Committee worked to organize and refine the various proposals debated earlier in the Convention.

While the Committee worked, the Convention adjourned, agreeing to reconvene by August 6 to review the Committee’s report. The two-week adjournment, referred to as the Four-Act Drama’s intermission, provided a pause in Convention proceedings to consolidate deliberations into a cohesive framework.

While the Convention made crucial progress throughout the late summer, some delegates remained uncertain about the direction of the proposed government and its eventual reception by the public. When the Convention reconvened, the Committee of Detail’s report became the focus of the proceedings, marking the next phase of the delegates’ work.

Document

“From James Madison to James Madison, Sr., 28 July 1787,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://teachingamericanhistory.org/1u3h.

I am sorry that I cannot gratify your wish to be informed of the proceedings of the Convention. An order of secresy leaves me at liberty merely to tell you that nothing definitive is yet done, that the Session will probably continue for some time yet, that an Adjournment took place on Thursday last until Monday week, and that a Committee is to be at work in the mean time….

Source

“From James Madison to James Madison, Sr., 28 July 1787,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://teachingamericanhistory.org/1u3h.

Study Questions

Why might Madison state that “nothing definitive is yet done,” despite the Convention’s progress after the proposal of the Connecticut Compromise? How does this phrase reflect the uncertainty and complexity of the work being undertaken?

Given your understanding of the secrecy rule and Madison’s earlier correspondence, do you think this letter upholds the level of confidentiality the delegates intended? Why or why not? At this stage in the proceedings, would maintaining secrecy be of greater, lesser, or of equal importance? Explain your reasoning.

Introduction

Document

“From James Madison to James Madison, Sr., 28 July 1787,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://teachingamericanhistory.org/1u3h.

Source

“From James Madison to James Madison, Sr., 28 July 1787,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://teachingamericanhistory.org/1u3h.

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Document

Introduction

Document

“From James Madison to James Madison, Sr., 28 July 1787,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://teachingamericanhistory.org/1u3h.

Source

“From James Madison to James Madison, Sr., 28 July 1787,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://teachingamericanhistory.org/1u3h.

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