Edward Carrington

From 1785–1789, Thomas Jefferson, the writer of the Declaration of Independence, was the United States' ambassador to France. He relied on letters from friends, relatives, politicians, and others who were in America at the time to keep him abreast of the most pressing political events. In this letter, sent June 9, 1787, Edward Carrington, a Virginia delegate to the Confederation Congress from 1786–1788, writes to Thomas Jefferson, reporting to him what he can about the early days of the Constitutional Convention. As Edward Carrington was in New York, where the Confederation Congress met, he is unable to provide Jefferson with a detailed account of the Constitutional Convention which was meeting in Philadelphia. In his letter, Carrington makes several observations. The two most notable are his reference to the secrecy which surrounded the Constitutional Convention, and his warning to Thomas...