Constitutional Convention

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Caution Against a Constitutional Convention

The Massachusetts Delegation to the Confederation Congress

In 1785, the Massachusetts legislature passed a resolution in favor of calling a convention to discuss changes to the Articles of Confederation. On September 3, 1785, the Massachusetts delegation to the Confederation Congress wrote a letter to the Massachusetts governor, James Bowdoin. In this letter, the delegates admit that there are important problems with the Articles of Confederation. However, they caution the governor and the legislature that calling a convention might not produce the results that Massachusetts desires. For example, they worry that such a convention might not even be legal under the Articles of Confederation. They also suggest that modest and temporary changes, rather than permanent constitutional amendments, might be a better solution to some of the problems. Most importantly, they worry that, while the Confederation Congress or the states could reject any changes in government proposed by the convention, rejecting the.....

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