Edmund Randolph
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Edmund Jennings Randolph (August 10, 1753 September 12, 1813) was a
Founding Father of the United States The Founding Fathers of the United States, known simply as the Founding Fathers or Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the war for independence from Great Britai ...
, attorney, and the 7th Governor of Virginia. As a delegate from Virginia, he attended the Constitutional Convention and helped to create the national constitution while serving on its
Committee of Detail The Committee of Detail was a committee established by the United States Constitutional Convention on July 24, 1787, to put down a draft text reflecting the agreements made by the convention up to that point, including the Virginia Plan's 15 re ...
. He was appointed the first
United States Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
by
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
and subsequently served as the second Secretary of State during the Washington administration.


Early life

Randolph was born on August 10, 1753, to the influential Randolph family in Williamsburg in the Colony of Virginia. He was educated at the
College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...
. After graduation he began
reading law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under th ...
with his father John Randolph and uncle,
Peyton Randolph Peyton Randolph (September 10, 1721 – October 22, 1775) was an American politician and planter who was a Founding Father of the United States. Born into Virginia's wealthiest and most powerful family, Randolph served as speaker of Virginia' ...
. In 1775, with the start of the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
, Randolph's father remained a Loyalist and returned to
Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
. Edmund Randolph returned to America where he joined the Continental Army as an aide-de-camp to
General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
. Upon the death of his uncle
Peyton Randolph Peyton Randolph (September 10, 1721 – October 22, 1775) was an American politician and planter who was a Founding Father of the United States. Born into Virginia's wealthiest and most powerful family, Randolph served as speaker of Virginia' ...
in October 1775, Randolph returned to
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
to act as executor of the estate, and while there was elected as a representative to the Fourth Virginia Convention. He was later mayor of Williamsburg, and then attorney general of Virginia, a post he held until 1786. He was married on August 29, 1776, to Elizabeth Nicholas, the daughter of Robert C. Nicholas, and had a total of six children, including
Peyton Randolph Peyton Randolph (September 10, 1721 – October 22, 1775) was an American politician and planter who was a Founding Father of the United States. Born into Virginia's wealthiest and most powerful family, Randolph served as speaker of Virginia' ...
, Governor of Virginia from 1811 to 1812.


Political career


Early political career

Randolph was selected as one of 11 delegates to represent Virginia at the Continental Congress in 1779 and served as a delegate until 1782. He also remained in private law practice, handling numerous legal issues for Washington and others. Randolph was elected as Governor of Virginia in 1786. That year, he was a delegate to the Annapolis Convention. He had taken on the young John Marshall as a student and then law partner and transferred his lucrative law practice to Marshall when Randolph became governor since Virginia law barred executive officers from private practice in its courts.


Constitutional Convention

The following year, as a delegate from Virginia to the Constitutional Convention, at 34, Randolph introduced the
Virginia Plan The ''Virginia Plan'' (also known as the Randolph Plan, after its sponsor, or the Large-State Plan) was a proposal to the United States Constitutional Convention for the creation of a supreme national government with three branches and a bicam ...
as an outline for a new national government. He argued against the importation of slaves and for a strong central government and advocated a plan for three chief executives from various parts of the country. The Virginia Plan also proposed a bicameral legislature, both houses of which would have delegates chosen based on state population. Randolph proposed and was supported unanimously by the convention's delegates "that a Nationally Judiciary be established" (Article III of the U.S. Constitution would establish the federal court system). The Articles of Confederation lacked a national court system for the United States. Randolph was also a member of the "
Committee of Detail The Committee of Detail was a committee established by the United States Constitutional Convention on July 24, 1787, to put down a draft text reflecting the agreements made by the convention up to that point, including the Virginia Plan's 15 re ...
," which was tasked with converting the Virginia Plan's 15 resolutions to a first draft of the Constitution. Randolph ultimately refused to sign the final document, one of only three members who remained in the Constitutional Congress but refused to sign (the others were the fellow Virginian
George Mason George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, one of the three delegates present who refused to sign the Constitution. His writings, including ...
and Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts). Randolph thought the final document lacked sufficient checks and balances and published an account of his objections in October 1787. He thought that the federal judiciary would pose a threat to state courts, and he considered the Senate was too powerful and Congress's power too broad. He also objected to the lack of a provision for a second convention to act after the present instrument had been referred to the states.


Role in ratification


Virginia Convention

Randolph nevertheless reversed his position at the
Virginia Ratifying Convention The Virginia Ratifying Convention (also historically referred to as the "Virginia Federal Convention") was a convention of 168 delegates from Virginia who met in 1788 to ratify or reject the United States Constitution, which had been drafted at ...
in 1788. He chaired the nearly equally-divided convention, and Mason (as one of the leaders of the opposition, along with
Patrick Henry Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736June 6, 1799) was an American attorney, planter, politician and orator known for declaring to the Second Virginia Convention (1775): " Give me liberty, or give me death!" A Founding Father, he served as the first a ...
) greatly resented Randolph's change of position. Mason and other opponents demanded amendments prior to ratification. Randolph noted that he had seen several responses to the insistence that amendments were necessary before ratification. Some thought the objection to be insubstantial because the Constitution provided a process for amendment. In common with other advocates of amending the Constitution prior to ratification, Randolph insisted that it would be easier to amend the Constitution before its ratification, when a majority might do so, than to ratify an imperfect Constitution and then to assemble the votes of three fourths of the states. He did not think that it was desirable for the people to become accustomed to altering their constitution with any regularity once it was adopted. Governor Randolph had written, "If after our best efforts for amendments, they cannot be obtained, I will adopt the constitution as it is." Ultimately, Randolph said he voted for ratification of the Constitution because by June 2, eight other states had already done so, and he did not want to see Virginia left out of the new national government. Randolph believed that Virginia must choose between the stark alternatives of ratification and disunion. Randolph never doubted the union's advantages. In the Richmond Ratification Convention, Randolph ultimately pointed the way to an understanding of ratification with which Virginia's leaders could be satisfied. He assured his fellow members of the Virginia political elite that the Constitution that it was being asked to ratify in the summer of 1788 would have very limited significance and that it would enter more a league of sovereign states than a consolidated union. Randolph wrote that of the ten delegates whose views had been completely unknown, five had been swayed to vote for ratification by his tactics. In the end, Virginia's Federalists secured the Constitution's ratification by precisely five votes.


Washington's Cabinet

President Washington rewarded Randolph for his support. Randolph was appointed as the first U.S. Attorney General in September 1789 and maintained the precarious neutrality in the feud between
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...
(of whom Randolph was a second cousin) and Alexander Hamilton. In Washington's cabinet, as in the ratification dispute of 1787–1788, Randolph tried to bring people together, rather than jump to hasty conclusions and ignore the potential costs in pursuit of self-righteous ideological purity. He continued to make important contributions to the structure of the new nation and to its relationship with the states. When Jefferson resigned as Secretary of State in 1793, Randolph succeeded him to the position. The major diplomatic initiative of his term was the
Jay Treaty The Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, Between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America, commonly known as the Jay Treaty, and also as Jay's Treaty, was a 1794 treaty between the United States and Great Britain that averted ...
with Britain in 1794, but Hamilton devised the plan, wrote the instructions, and left Randolph the nominal role of signing the papers. Randolph, hostile to the resulting treaty, almost gained Washington's ear but was overridden in the wake of the Fauchet scandal (see below). Near the end of his term as Secretary of State, negotiations for
Pinckney's Treaty Pinckney's Treaty, also known as the Treaty of San Lorenzo or the Treaty of Madrid, was signed on October 27, 1795 by the United States and Spain. It defined the border between the United States and Spanish Florida, and guaranteed the United S ...
were finalized.


Romance and married life with Elizabeth Nicholas

Miss Nicholas was daughter of the Hon. Robert Carter Nicholas, State Treasurer. Randolph wrote to his children after his wife's death:
"We were both born in the city of Williamsburg, within twelve hours of each other; myself on the 10th of August 1753, and she on the 11th. My aunt Randolph, who saw each of us soon after our birth, facetiously foretold that we should be united in marriage-a circumstance which, improbable at the time from the dissensions of our families, seemed daily to grow into an impossibility from their increasing rancor. In childhood we were taught the elements of reading at the same school... she won me by the best of all graces, cheerfulness, good sense, and benevolence. I do not recollect that I reflected much upon that range of qualities, which I afterwards found to be constituents of nuptial happiness; but Providence seemed to be kinder to me than my most deliberate judgment could have been... I desired nothing more than that she should sincerely persuade herself that she would be happy with me."
On August 29, 1776, they were joined in wedlock. The relations between Randolph and his wife had always been true and tender. So free from friction had been the course of their united lives that his daughters could not forget the single instance of misunderstanding. Mrs. Randolph having related some incident, her husband hastily exclaimed: "That is mere gossip." The lady repaired to her room and did not answer her husband's gentle knock. Randolph then said, "Betsey, I have urgent business in town, but I shall not leave this house until permitted to apologize to you." The door opened, and the unprecedented scene ended. On March 6, 1810, a blow came from which Randolph could not recover; his wife died. After Mrs. Randolph's burial, the heartbroken husband wrote some account of her and of their married life, which was addressed to his children as "the best witnesses of the truth of the brief history." In part of this account Randolph wrote, "My eyes are every moment beholding so many objects with which she was associated; I sometimes catch a sound which deludes me so much with the similitude of her voice; I carry about my heart and hold for a daily visit so many of her precious relics; and, above all, my present situation is so greatly contrasted by its vacancy, regrets, and anguish, with the purest and unchequered bliss, so far as it depended on her, for many years of varying fortune, that I have vowed at her grave daily to maintain with her a mental intercourse."


Resignation

A scandal involving an intercepted French message led to Randolph's resignation as Secretary of State in August 1795. Randolph had been tasked with maintaining friendly relations with France. The
British Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...
had intercepted correspondence from the French minister Joseph Fauchet to his superiors and turned it over to Washington, who was dismayed that the letters reflected contempt for the United States and that Randolph had been primarily responsible. The letters implied that Randolph had exposed the inner debates in the cabinet to France and had told it that the administration was hostile to the country. At the very least, Elkins and McKitrick conclude, there "was something here profoundly disreputable to the government's good faith and character." Washington immediately overruled Randolph's negative advice about the Jay Treaty. A few days later, Washington, in the presence of the entire cabinet, handed the minister's letter to Randolph and demanded an explanation for it. Randolph was speechless and immediately resigned. Chernow and Elkins conclude that Randolph was not bribed by France but "was rather a pitiable figure, possessed of some talents and surprisingly little malice, but subject to self-absorbed silliness and lapses of good sense." However, Randolph's own published ''Vindication'' illustrates his concerns about both public and private perceptions of his character, which held great value in the 18th century. In the event, Randolph secured a published retraction from Fauchet. After his resignation, Randolph was held personally responsible for the loss of a large sum of money during his administration of the state department. He was eventually adjudged to owe the government more than $49,000, which he paid.


Later life

After leaving the federal cabinet, Randolph returned to Virginia to practice law, where he was a leader of the state bar. His most famous case was defending Aaron Burr at his trial for treason in 1807. In 1791, Randolph was elected to the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
.


Death and legacy

Randolph lived his final years as a guest of his friend
Nathaniel Burwell Nathaniel Burwell (April 15, 1750 – March 29, 1814) was an American politician and plantation owner. Perhaps the most distinguished of five men of that name to serve in the Virginia General Assembly before the American Civil War (as distin ...
at
Carter Hall Carter(s), or Carter's, Tha Carter, or The Carter(s), may refer to: Geography United States * Carter, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Carter, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Carter, Montana, a census-designated place * Carte ...
, near
Millwood, Virginia Millwood is an unincorporated community located in Clarke County, Virginia, United States. Millwood is the home of many of Clarke County's most historic sites including the Burwell-Morgan Mill (1785), Carter Hall (1792), the Greenway Historic Distr ...
, in
Clarke County Clarke County may refer to: ;Places *One of five counties in the United States: **Clarke County, Alabama **Clarke County, Georgia **Clarke County, Iowa **Clarke County, Mississippi **Clarke County, Virginia Clarke County is a county in the Com ...
. He suffered from paralysis in his final years and died at 60 on September 12, 1813. He is buried nearby at the Burwell family cemetery adjacent to " Old Chapel." Randolph County, West Virginia was formed in 1787 and named in Randolph's honor.
Randolph County, Illinois Randolph County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 30,163. Its county seat is Chester. Owing to its role in the state's history, the county motto is "Where Illinois Began." ...
was also named after him. Randolph, who was the governor of Virginia when the state ceded what was then sometimes called
Illinois County, Virginia Illinois County, Virginia, was a political and geographic region, part of the British Province of Quebec, claimed during the American Revolutionary War on July 4, 1778 by George Rogers Clark of the Virginia Militia, as a result of the Illinois ...
(a title disputed by Pennsylvania and others) to the new federal government, which created the Northwest Territory. Randolph County's motto is "where Illinois began" because it was one of the first two settled counties in the territory. It contains
Kaskaskia The Kaskaskia were one of the indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands. They were one of about a dozen cognate tribes that made up the Illiniwek Confederation, also called the Illinois Confederation. Their longstanding homeland was in ...
, the first seat of Illinois County, which later became the capital of Illinois Territory's capital and ultimately the state's first capital. The Edmund J. Randolph Award is the highest award given by the
US Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...
to persons who make "outstanding contributions to the accomplishments of the Department's mission."


References

* Conway, Moncure D. ''Omitted Chapters of History: Disclosed in the Life and Papers of Edmund Randolph''. Vol. 2. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1888. * Gutzman, Kevin R.C. "Edmund Randolph and Virginia Constitutionalism." ''The Review of Politics'' 66.3 (2004) * Maier, Pauline. ''Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787–1788''. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010. *


Sources

* * written by himself, with a preface by P.V. Daniel, Jr. * *


External links


A Guide to the Executive Papers of Governor Edmund Randolph, 1786–1788
a
The Library of Virginia
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Randolph, Edmund 1753 births 1813 deaths American Episcopalians American people of English descent Burials in Virginia College of William & Mary alumni Continental Army staff officers Continental Congressmen from Virginia 18th-century American politicians Delegates to the Virginia Ratifying Convention Governors of Virginia Mayors of Williamsburg, Virginia Members of the Virginia House of Delegates
Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and ...
American slave owners United States Attorneys General United States Secretaries of State Virginia Attorneys General Virginia Federalists Virginia lawyers Washington administration cabinet members Nicholas family American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law Aides-de-camp of George Washington People from Millwood, Virginia Drafting of the United States Constitution