1Notes on Ancient and Modern Confederacies, [April–June?] 1786 (Madison Papers)
As a member of Congress JM had worked tirelessly to strengthen the federal authority, a goal which he had continued to pursue in the Virginia legislature. The appointment of JM in January 1786 as a delegate to the proposed commercial convention at Annapolis the following September offered him a new opportunity to work for reform of the Confederation. During the mid-1780s JM’s political...