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Title: James Madison's Notes of the Constitutional Convention (May 30, 1787)
Published: May 30, 1787
Summary:
The delegates discuss the shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation (including the consequences of having a weak federal government, issues of national defense, the inability to raise monies, etc.) and Mr. Randolph of Virginia proposes the construction of a new Constitution that divides the supreme powers of government between three equal branches: the legislative, judicial, and executive. A vote is taken and the majority favors Mr. Randolph’s proposition. Issues of representation and suffrage arise, only to be postponed, partially due to threats of secession by Delaware. Governor Morris of Massachusetts observes, “that the valuable assistance of those members [delegates from Delaware] could not be lost without real concern, and that so early a proof of discord in the convention as a secession of a State, would add much to the regret; that the change proposed was however so fundamental an article in a national Government that it could not be dispensed with.”
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