Madison arrived in Philadelphia 3 weeks before the intended start date, intending to spend the preluding weeks preparing for the Convention. This meant consulting with fellow southern delegates, creating and developing policies he wanted passes, and reading literature regarding other budding democracies and their own constitutions. Although his closest friend and ally, Thomas Jefferson, was across the ocean in France, Madison was ready to guide the Virginian delegation through the proceedings.
The Virginia caucus, officially led by Governor Edmond Randolph, wasted no time presenting their plan to the Convention floor. From a document largely composed by Madison, Randolph revealed a …show more content…
Madison and Hamilton knew this, which is why they decided to launch a newspaper campaign to argue the pros of a new Constitution and the cons of the Articles of Confederation. Under the pseudonym “Publius,” the two published a series of essays in a New York paper. John Jay was a part of the coalition initially, but due to arthritis he was forced to step down after five essays. This left Madison and Hamilton to do the whole job themselves, a challenge they met with vigor. Intending to only write 25 pieces, the trio ended up publishing 85 essays total. Five of these were from Jay, but the other 80 were the solely the work of either Madison or Hamilton. These essays served as an introduction to some of the plans for the new Constitution, a defense for these plans, and an argument against the