Letter from Thomas McKean to William Atlee (1787)

by Thomas McKean
  • August 16, 1787
Image: Lake Albano. Inness, George. (1869) The Phillips Collection. https://www.phillipscollection.org/collection/lake-albano
How does the tone of McKean’s letter compare to that of Spaight sent several days prior? What might account for this difference? To what extent might their individual state delegations have impacted their perspective?
How do the ongoing discussions of federalism and separation of powers shed light on why delegates had conflicting expectations about whether the Convention would finish in weeks or extend for months?
Constitutional Convention

“Thomas McKean to William Atlee,” August 16, 1787. In Supplement to Max Farrand's The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787, edited by James H. Hutson. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1987. https://consource.org/document/thomas-mckean-to-william-atlee-1787-8-16/20130122083022/

Sir1,

…The Convention is still sitting; nothing transpires. I2 am tired feasting with them. Some say, they will continue together about two more weeks, others say two months. . . . 

Footnotes
  1. 1. William Atlee (1753–1793), a lawyer by trade, served as a justice on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
  2. 2. Thomas McKean (1734–1817) represented Delaware in the first two Continental Congresses, and served as its president in 1781. Concurrently, he served as Chief Justice of Pennsylvania. Later he worked with James Wilson to advocate for Pennsylvania’s ratification of the Constitution.
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