Convention of 1787: May 29, 1787 Day 3: The Virginia Plan and Pinckney Plan

May 29, 1787 was the first day of formal debates in the Convention, and would see two plans presented that would set the tone for much of the Convention, the Virginia Plan introduced by Edmund Randolph (Virginia) and Charles Pinckney (South Carolina) also introduced his Pinckney Plan.

Before either man would rise to present their plans to the Convention, James Madison noted the arrival of two more Delegates to the Convention, and final rules were established proposed the day prior on May 28, 1787.

Delaware – John Dickinson

Massachusetts – Elbridge Gerry

The following additional rules were proposed by the Committee of Rules, and subsequently agreed to.

“That no member be absent from the House, so as to interrupt the representation of the state, without leave.

“That committees do not sit whilst the House shall be, or ought to be, sitting.

“That no copy be taken of any entry on the Journal, during the sitting of the House, without leave of the House.

“That members only be permitted to inspect the Journal.

“That nothing spoken in the House be printed, or otherwise published, or communicated, without leave.

“That a motion to reconsider a matter which has been determined by a majority may be made, with leave unanimously given, on the same day on which the vote passed; but otherwise, not without one day’s previous notice; in which last case, if the House agree to the reconsideration, some future day shall be assigned for that purpose.”

Pinckney Plan, a Draft of a Constitution.

On May 29, 1787 after Edmund Randolph presented the Virginia Plan, Charles Pinckney of South Carolina also presented a draft plan for a Constitution.

For some time the validity of the Pinckney Plan was questioned, since it bore considerable resemblance to the “Committee of Detail Plan. In 1818, John Quincy Adams was preparing the journal of the convention for publication and discovered that the Pinckney plan was missing, he wrote to Pinckney for a copy, and Pinckney sent him what he asserted was either a copy of his original draft or a copy of a draft which differed from the original in no essentials. But as this was found to bear a close resemblance to the draft reported by the committee of detail, Madison and others, who had been members of the convention, as well as historians, treated it as spurious, and for years Pinckney received little credit for his work in the convention. Later historians, however, notably J. Franklin Jameson and Andrew C. McLaughlin, have accredited to him the suggestion of a number of provisions of the constitution as a result of their efforts to reconstruct his original plan chiefly from his speeches, or alleged speeches, and from certain papers of James Wilson, a member of the committee of detail, one of which papers is believed to be an outline of the Pinckney plan.

This is the plan submitted to John Quincy Adams in 1818. James Madison only notes in his notes that a plan from Charles Pinckney was in fact submitted, but the plan itself was not written down .

The Virginia Plan

This includes three parts of the Virginia Plan presented by Edmund Randolph on to the Constitution Convention on May 29, 1787.

The First he address the purpose of Government, than states Five specific issues with the Articles of Confederation, this is then followed by his basic plan of Government. James Madison also had a significant part in the writing of the Virginia Plan. These portions are taken directly as written from James Madison Notes.

Purpose of Government

1. The character of such a government ought to secure, first, against foreign invasion; secondly, against dissensions between members of the Union, or seditions in particular states; thirdly, to procure to the several states various blessings, of which an isolated situation was incapable; fourthly, it should be able to defend itself against encroachment; and, fifthly, to be paramount to the state constitutions.

2. In speaking of the defects of the Confederation, he professed a high respect for its authors, and considered them as having done all that patriots could do, in the then infancy of the science of constitutions and of confederacies; when the inefficiency of requisitions was unknown—no commercial discord had arisen among any states—no rebellion had appeared, as in Massachusetts—foreign debts had not become urgent—the havoc of paper money had not been foreseen—treaties had not been violated; and perhaps nothing better could be obtained, from the jealousy of the states with regard to their sovereignty.

Convention of 1787: May 28, 1787 Day 2; Setting the Rules of Debate.

Day 2; Monday May 28, 1787 would be largely uneventful as additional delegates would arrive, most of the rules of the Convention being agreed to, some more rules are proposed, and the Convention receives word from Rhode Island that they would not being sending any delegates to the Convention.

James Madison¹ notes the arrival of Nine more delegates, bringing the total now to 10 States being represented by a total of 38 delegates.

• Massachusetts- Nathaniel Gorham and Caleb Strong
• Connecticut- Oliver Ellsworth
• Delaware- Gunning Bedford
• Maryland- James McHenry
• Pennsylvania- Benjamin Franklin, George Clymer, Thomas Mifflin, and Jared Ingersoll

George Wythe (Virginia) introduced the proposed rules from the committee. Rufus King (Massachusetts) opposed the rule authoring any member to call for the yea and nay votes. He feels that the acts of the Convention were not to bind the constituents, and it was unnecessary and improper to keep evidence of the votes, as opinions would frequently change. George Mason (Virginia) agreed and seconded the motion. This rule was rejected nem. con. (no one contradicting, unanimous)².

The following rules were than agreed to by the Convention.

Convention of 1787: May 25, 1787 Day 1; Choosing a Convention President and setting the Rules

Even though the Convention was called to begin on the second Monday in May, May 14, 1787 it was not until Friday May 25th Delegates from at least seven States had arrived, sufficient for a quorum and to begin business. As noted by James Madison, the following eight States were represented with these delegates this day¹.

• Massachusetts—Rufus King;
• New York—Robert Yates and Alexander Hamilton;
• New Jersey—David Brearly, William Churchill Houston, and William Patterson;
• Pennsylvania—Robert Morris, Thomas Fitzsimons, James Wilson, and Gouverneur Morris;
• Delaware—George Reed, Richard Basset, and Jacob Broom;
• Virginia—George Washington, Edmund Randolph, John Blair, James Madison, George Mason, George Wythe, and James McClurg;
• North Carolina—Alexander Martin, William Richardson Davie, Richard Dobbs Spaight, and Hugh Williamson;
• South Carolina—John Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles Pinckney, and Pierce Butler;

This day would be light in business, in all providing for the needed preparations for the Convention to move forward. The election of Officers and positions, and to develop a set of rules to govern the Convention.