The New York Circular Letter was a solution reached in a controversy between

Federalists The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...

and

Anti-Federalists Anti-Federalism was a late-18th century political movement that opposed the creation of a stronger U.S. federal government and which later opposed the ratification of the 1787 Constitution. The previous constitution, called the Articles of Con ...

over ratification of the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...

. The compromise built on earlier deals like the

Massachusetts Compromise The Massachusetts Compromise was a solution reached in a controversy between Federalists and Anti-Federalists over the ratification of the United States Constitution. The compromise helped gather enough support for the Constitution to ensure its ...

to call for the use of the Convention provision written into the newly ratified Constitution in order to get the amendments demanded by New York and other states.

Melancton Smith Melancton Smith (May 7, 1744 – July 29, 1798) was a merchant, lawyer and a New York delegate to the Continental Congress. Praised for his intelligence, liberality, and reasonableness, Smith had attained considerable respect in the State of ...

lead the Anti-Federalists at the New York Ratifying Convention in

Poughkeepsie Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...

John Jay John Jay (December 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, patriot, diplomat, abolitionist, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served as the second governor of New York and the first ...

and

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...

were among the leaders of the Federalists. A majority of the Convention were Anti-Federalists. But after

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

and

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 ...

ratified the Constitution, many felt it was no longer practical to insist on amendments before ratifying. With 10 other States having ratified, the Constitution was clearly going into effect, the debate was whether or not New York would be a part of it. Smith proposed that the States call for a Convention under Article V as a condition of New York's ratification, but Jay and Hamilton altered the proposal to ratification unconditionally, but with the understanding that the Article V Convention procedure would be used. The delegates assigned both Smith and Jay to the committee to draft the letter, though ultimately the draft adopted by the New York Convention was written by John Jay with help from Hamilton and John Lansing, Jr. The Convention adopted the letter unanimously. Governor of New York and Chair of the Convention George Clinton sent the letter to all of the States and championed the proposal in the New York State Legislature to call for the Convention. Virginia and New York were the only two states to call for the Convention. The response in other states varied from outright rejection to consideration only after giving Congress a chance to propose the amendments first.

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...

opposed the idea of early amendments, advocating a few years of seeing how the Constitution would run first. However, he believed that if amendments were to be proposed early, especially if some of them went to the heart of the function of Congress before Congress had a chance to demonstrate how well it would work, it would be better if they were proposed by Congress. Madison, a member of the first

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

, proposed the

Bill of Rights A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights, is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose is to protect those rights against infringement from public officials and pri ...

partially in response to the Convention effort.

References

* {{US Constitution, state=expanded Ratification of the United States Constitution Political history of New York (state) 1788 in the United States 1788 in American politics Political compromises in the United States 1788 documents