James Madison

James Madison is often called the "Father of the U.S. Constitution." He certainly played an active role throughout the Convention and many of his ideas were instituted as part of the final document. An equally important historical contribution has been the copious notes that James Madison took of the debates during the Constitutional Convention. These notes certainly helped him in writing this letter of October 24, 1787, to Thomas Jefferson, who was in France as the American ambassador. Madison is able to describe concisely the fundamental debates that transpired during the Convention. He ends his letter with his assessment of the chances of ratification of the Constitution in the various states, with particular emphasis on the politics of ratification in his (and Jefferson's) home state of Virginia.

You will herewith receive the result of the Convention...