To George Washington from William Jackson, 17 September 1787
From William Jackson
[Philadelphia] Monday evening [17 September 1787]
Major Jackson presents his most respectful compliments to General Washington—He begs leave to request his signature to forty Diplomas intended for the Rhode Island Society of the Cincinnati.
Major Jackson, after burning all the loose scraps of paper which belong to the Convention, will this evening wait upon the General with the Journals and other papers which their vote directs to be delivered to His Excellency.1
AL, DLC:GW.
1. In his “Notes” for 17 Sept., James Madison wrote: “The President having asked what the Convention meant should be done with the Journals &c, whether copies were to be allowed to the members if applied for. It was Resolved nem: con: ‘that he retain the Journal and other papers, subject to the order of Congress, if ever formed under the Constitution’” ( 2:648). During the controversy over Jay’s treaty in 1796, GW deposited the journal of the Convention and other papers with the secretary of state (see GW’s message to the House of Representatives, 30 Mar. 1796, in , 4th Cong., 1st sess., 759–61).