Debates and Other Proceedings of the Convention of Virginia
Debates and Other Proceedings of the Convention of Virginia, Convened at Richmond, on Monday the Second Day of June, 1788, for the Purpose of Deliberating on the Constitution Recommended by the Grand Federal Convention. To Which is Prefixed the Federal Constitiution
| Debates and Other Proceedings of the Convention of Virginia | |
 Title page from Debates and Other Proceedings of the Convention of Virginia, George Wythe Collection, Wolf Law Library, College of William & Mary. | |
| Published | Richmond: Printed at the Enquirer-press, for Ritchie & Worsley and Augustine Davis |
| Date | 1805 |
| Edition | Second |
| Language | English |
| Pages | viii, 477 |
| Desc. | 8vo (22 cm.) |
In June 1788, one hundred sixty-eight delegates from across Virginia met in Richmond to debate whether Virginia would ratify the United States Constitution. On June 25, 1788, by a vote of 89 to 79, they made Virginia the tenth state to ratify the Constitution.
At the time, there were two groups with opposing opinions on ratification: Federalists and Antifederalists. The ideological debate revolved around both the power granted to the federal government in the Constitution, as well as the lack of individual rights provided by the Constitution. The Federalists, including James Madison, George Wythe, Edmund Randolph, and John Marshall, supported ratification. The Antifederalists, who included Patrick Henry, George Mason and James Monroe, argued that the Constitution granted too much power to the federal government; if ratified, it would need to assure individual liberties.
Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library
Thomas Jefferson listed "Proceedings of the Virginia convention" in his inventory of Wythe's Library, noting that he kept the volume himself. He sold a copy of the first edition (1788) of Debates and Other Proceedings of the Convention of Virginia to the Library of Congress in 1815. The volume still exists and contains manuscript notes not by Jefferson, but also not specifically attributed to Wythe.[1] Alternatively, the Library of Congress copy might be the copy Wythe sent to Jefferson with a July 10, 1788 letter, "the convention for discussing the american government sat almost two weeks. the result of their deliberations is inclosed with this." Both Brown's Bibliography[2] and George Wythe's Library[3] on LibraryThing include the Library of Congress volume as potentially Wythe's former copy. Dean's Memo[4] also lists the 1788 edition based on the Wythe letter to Jefferson. The 1788 edition is extremely rare, so the Wolf Law Library purchased a copy of the second edition (1805) to represent this title in the George Wythe Collection.
Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy
Rebound in period-style half-calf with marbled boards. Spine features raised bands, tooling and a red label.
View this book in William & Mary's online catalog.
References
- ↑ E. Millicent Sowerby, Catalogue of the Library of Thomas Jefferson, 2nd ed. (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1983), 3:224-225 [no.3011].
- ↑ Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, May, 2012) Microsoft Word file. Earlier edition available at: https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433
- ↑ LibraryThing, s. v. "Member: George Wythe", accessed on March 19, 2014.
- ↑ Memorandum from Barbara C. Dean, Colonial Williamsburg Found., to Mrs. Stiverson, Colonial Williamsburg Found. (June 16, 1975), 15 (on file at Wolf Law Library, College of William & Mary).
External Links
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