1To George Washington from James Madison, 20 November 1789 (Washington Papers)
were introduced in the Virginia general assembly, Patrick Henry led the opposition. Perhaps the best description of the proceedings concerning amendments in this session of the house of delegates is found in a letter from Edward Carrington to Madison, 20 Dec. 1789: “During the...
2To George Washington from James Madison, 5 December 1789 (Washington Papers)
For the action of the Virginia general assembly on the amendments to the Constitution, see
3Public Debt, [31 March] 1792 (Madison Papers)
The Virginia General Assembly passed resolutions at its October 1790 session condemning the assumption of state debts as “repugnant to the constitution of the United States, as it goes to the exercise of a power not granted to the general government,” and...
4From James Madison to Horatio Gates, 23 February 1794 (Madison Papers)
The Senate’s self-imposed secrecy rankled Virginians. Monroe carried out an instruction from the Virginia General Assembly in February 1791 when he introduced a bill aimed at opening the Senate doors. Congressman Anthony New saw the 20 Feb. 1794 resolution, which passed 19 to 8, as heralding “an event long desired, and from which...
. Probably informs the bishop that JM does not plan to retire from Congress and so cannot sponsor in the Virginia General Assembly a state-supported university. Encloses John Penington’s
6Draft of the Petition to the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia, [ca. September] 1795 (Madison Papers)
...to Philadelphia for the first session of the Fourth Congress. En route, he paused at Fredericksburg between 6 and 8 November where he met with Joseph Jones to discuss what contribution the Virginia General Assembly might make to the antitreaty cause. Jones, like Jefferson, had been urging JM to participate in the polemical debate on the treaty, and it seems more than likely that when they...
7From James Madison to Thomas Jefferson, 31 January 1796 (Madison Papers)
On 19 Jan. Gov. Samuel Adams submitted to the Massachusetts General Court the constitutional amendments proposed by the Virginia General Assembly. He denounced the Jay treaty as “pregnant with evil” but also cautioned against “unnecessary alterations of our Constitution.” Both houses declined to consider either the amendments or the treaty (Harry Alonzo Cushing, ed.,
8From James Madison to James Monroe, 26 February 1796 (Madison Papers)
On various states’ responses to the constitutional amendments proposed by the Virginia General Assembly, see Farnham, “The Virginia Amendments of 1795,”