Letter from James Madison to James Monroe (1787): The Rule of Secrecy

Image: James Monroe. Morse, Samuel F. B. (1819) White House Historical Association (White House Collection). https://www.whitehousehistory.org/photos/james-monroe
What support does Madison provide for the rule restraining members from disclosing information about Convention proceedings?
Madison mentions delegates have arrived or plan to arrive from all states except Rhode Island. Why doesn’t Madison perceive their absence as an issue? What might have been the cause for Madison’s opinion?
Introduction

This letter is part of a collection of letters written at the beginning of the Constitutional Convention.  You can find a list of all letters in this collection here.

The Constitutional Convention was scheduled to begin on May 14, 1787, but on that date only eight delegates, four from Pennsylvania and four from Virginia, had arrived in Philadelphia. Lacking the necessary quorum, the delegates adjourned until a sufficient number of states were in attendance. As reflected in several of these letters, those who arrived promptly expressed frustration with the delays caused by the absence of other delegates.

By May 17, the remaining members of the Virginia delegation had assembled and began drafting the Virginia Plan. As delegates from other states gradually arrived throughout the following weeks, the Virginia delegation shared its proposal, establishing a foundation for the state’s active role in the Convention proceedings. While Virginia sought to build momentum, some states grew apprehensive of the Virginia Plan. George Read, a delegate from Delaware, shared concerns in private correspondence with a fellow delegate, writing, “I suspect it to be of importance to the small States that their deputies should keep a strict watch upon the movements and propositions from the larger States, who will probably combine to swallow up the smaller ones by addition, division, or impoverishment.” Although official proceedings would not begin for several more days, Read foreshadowed tensions that would grow in the early debates.

Enough states were represented by May 25 to meet the quorum, allowing official Convention proceedings to begin. The delegates first elected George Washington as president and William Jackson as secretary. Within the initial days, the Committee of Rules established ten rules for the Convention, including the notable secrecy rule which stipulated that “nothing spoken in the house be printed, or otherwise published or communicated without leave.” This rule was intended to “secure unbiased discussion…and prevent misconceptions;” however, delegates varied in their adherence to this rule in private correspondence. Still, as suggested by Act I letters, correspondence sent before the secrecy rule provided more detailed accounts of the Convention than those sent afterward.

On May 29, Edmund Randolph formally introduced the Virginia Plan to the Convention as a proposal to revise the Articles of Confederation. While the plan featured fifteen points, three key elements included: excluding states from roles in representation and elections; significantly reducing state powers in favor of expanding Congressional authority; and establishing a national government with legislative, executive and judicial branches, those in the legislative and executive branches serving specified terms. Over the following weeks, extensive discussion and debates led delegates to recognize that the Convention would extend longer than initially anticipated. They also began to realize that simply revising the Articles of Confederation would not be an adequate solution to the nation’s challenges.

As later Act I letters indicate, the delegates remained optimistic despite prolonged debates. They believed that an agreement would ultimately develop, resulting in a new framework for the national government that would strengthen federal authority, and ensure political and economic stability, while fostering greater unity among the states.

—Michelle Alderfer

“From James Madison to James Monroe, 10 June 1787,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://teachingamericanhistory.org/ky9o.


Dear Sir

I have been discouraged from answering sooner your favor of______ 1 by the bar which opposes such communications as I should incline not less to make than you must do to receive. One of the earliest rules established by the Convention restrained the members from any disclosure whatever of its proceedings, a restraint which will not probably be removed for some time. I think the rule was a prudent one not only as it will effectually secure the requisite freedom of discussion, but as it will save both the Convention and the Community from a thousand erroneous and perhaps mischievous reports. I feel notwithstanding great mortification in the disappointment it obliges me to throw on the curiosity of my friends. The Convention is now as full as we expect it to be unless a report should be true that Rh. Island has it in contemplation2 to make one of the party. If her deputies should bring with them the complexion of the State, their company will not add much to our pleasure, or to the progress of the business. Eleven States are on the floor. All the deputies from Virga. remain except Mr. Wythe3 who was called away some days ago by information from Williamsburg concerning the increase of his lady’s ill health. . . .  

Js. Madison Jr.

Footnotes
  1. 1. Madison purposefully left this space blank in reference to a letter he received from Monroe dated May 23, 1787.
  2. 2. See “Letter from Certain Citizens of Rhode Island to the Federal Convention (1787).” 
  3. 3. George Wythe (1726–1806), delegate from Virginia.
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