Benjamin Hawkins to James Madison (June 1, 1789)

a circumstance trivial indeed, but from its effect here, important, deserves to be told. The opponents had predicted that Congress being once possessed with power, the friends to the new Government would never consent to make any amendments. your motion on that great and delicate subject directly contradicts it.1 And they swear that they will never forget Bland, Grayson and their other friends for suffering any business however important to be done in Congress prior to the subject amendments. and moreover for suffering this important prophecy by their tardiness to be contradicted.

If you can do something by way of amendments without any material injury to the system, I shall be much pleased, and as far as I can learn it will be pleasing to my countrymen or a majority of them I mean, we certainly are more friendly than we were at the meeting of our Convention, several counties who were much opposed to it, are now decidedly very friendly and I count on its being adopted at Our next convention.2