Recently the National Archives announced a new exhibit that will display the four pages of the Constitution, the additional page with two resolutions of the Constitutional Convention providing the procedure for the ratification and implementation of the Constitution, and the 27 amendments to the Constitution. Inexplicably, however, the exhibit that commemorates Constitution Day (17 September) does not include the wonderful cover letter signed by George Washington as the President of the Convention and addressed to the President of the Confederation Congress, Arthur St. Clair. This letter explains the difficulties faced by the Constitutional Convention and arguably became the single most important document in the year-long debate over the ratification of the Constitution. When Adam P. Levinson, the founder and director of statutesandstories.com, learned of this proposed exhibit without Washington’s cover letter, he immediately mobilized his digital resources to circulate a “dear colleague” letter to have the cover letter added to the exhibit, thus completing the constitutional story. We invite you to notify Levinson and/or Kaminski that you would like to add your name in support of this addition to the exhibit. For more on the cover letter, please see the Center’s blog “Covering the Constitution,” posted on September 13, 2020. https://csac.history.wisc.edu/2020/09/13/covering-the-constitution/
September 15, 2025
Dear National Archives:
As Constitution Day approaches we are excited about the recent announcement that the National Archives will be exhibiting the entire Constitution for the first time, including the “5th page” that includes two resolutions of the Constitutional Convention providing the procedure for the ratification and the implementation of the Constitution, and all 27 amendments. The exhibit will no doubt be historic!
With that said, the exhibit would be even more complete if the Constitution’s 17 September 1787 transmittal letter (hereinafter the “cover letter”) was also included. A stunning piece of American history, the cover letter was signed by George Washington as the President of the Constitutional Convention. As explained below, the cover letter accompanied the Constitution as it travelled from Philadelphia (where the Constitutional Convention met during the summer of 1787) to New York (where the Confederation Congress resided at the time).
The delegates to the Convention unanimously approved the cover letter “by paragraph,” making it an official publication of the Constitutional Convention. Click here for a link to the cover letter which was addressed to the President of Congress, Arthur St. Clair. The transmittal letter was prepared for Washington’s signature by the same “Committee of Style” that prepared the penultimate draft of the Constitution.
On the final day of the Constitutional Convention, the delegates famously lined up to sign the Constitution on 17 September 1787. Although their work in Philadelphia was concluding, the next chapter in the national saga was just beginning. At this point the Constitution was merely a proposal. It would need to be ratified by nine states before it could take effect among the ratifying states.
Beginning on September 19th the cover letter, the Constitution and the ratification resolutions (or “5th page”) were printed in approximately 100 newspapers around the country. When the Constitution was first released to the public, the widely disseminated cover letter was commonly printed together with the Constitution. Due to the relative brevity of both documents, they fit together in a single issue of the four-columned papers of the day. As the Constitution was a legal text, the cover letter helped explain the work and objectives of the Constitutional Convention. While most newspapers printed the cover letter below the Constitution, in several cases the cover letter was printed above the Constitution, as it helped introduce the Constitution to the public.
According to Professor Robert Rutland, “[n]othing similar to this had ever occurred before and has never happened since—a whole nation invited, and even encouraged, to read the entire Constitution.” In her book Brilliant Solution, Carol Berkin wrote that “The letter was the committee’s gift to their fellow delegates – a preemptive strike against the local critics they would have to face when they returned home.” The Center for the Study of the American Constitution explains that “[t]he importance of Washington’s letter of 17 September 1787 as president of the Convention to the president of Congress cannot be over emphasized.” In a sentence repeatedly quoted throughout the ratification debate, Washington described the proposed Constitution as “the Result of a Spirit of Amity and of that mutual Deference & Concession which the Peculiarity of our political Situation rendered indispensible.”
We fully understand that it may be difficult to include the cover letter in the exhibit which opens on September 16. Nevertheless, perhaps it might be added to the online exhibit or included in an exhibit next year beside our cherished Constitution.
We are happy to answer any questions about the cover letter or our humble request.
We have the honor to be your most faithful servants,
William B. Allen, PhD (Michigan State University Emeritus Dean and Professor)
Richard Brookhiser (historian, biographer, journalist)
Peter Charles Hoffer, PhD (Distinguished Research Professor, University of Georgia)
John P. Kaminski, PhD (Center for the Study of the American Constitution, Editor, Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution)
Edward L. Larson, PhD (Hugh & Hazel Darling Chair in Law, Pepperdine University)
Adam P. Levinson, Esq. (Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, Scholarly Fellow; Statutesandstories.com, Founder)
Stuart Leibiger, PhD (Department of Humanity & Society Chair, La Salle University)
Timothy R. Schantz (Advisory Board member, Smithsonian Libraries and Archives; member of the Board of Councilors of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania; Co-Chair of the HSP Milestones Committee)
John R. Vile, PhD (Dean and Professor of Political Science, Middle Tennessee State University)
Statements in support of the friendly recommendation to include the cover letter in the current (or a future) exhibit:
“Naturally, I agree that the cover letter should be included in the display. It’s an integral part of the Convention’s report as it bookends with the Preamble in explaining the purpose of the Constitution and even goes beyond the Preamble in explaining how the Convention went about its business. Furthermore, the cover letter played a critical role in the ratification of the Constitution.” [John P. Kaminski, Center for the Study of the American Constitution]
“Tell them this was the header on George Washington’s email; they should show it too.” [Richard Brookhiser]
“I ENDORSE WHOLE HEARTEDLY THE PROPOSAL THAT THE “TRUE STORY” OF THE ADOPTION BE FULLY TOLD!” [W Allen, Emeritus Dean and Professor, Michigan State University]
“Of course, I’d like to see the cover letter included — and perhaps a newspaper copy from a newspaper printing both the cover letter and the Constitution on the same page would be better than a broadsheet copy because it would underscore how the two documents went out and were received together. The draft manuscript could also be included along with the newspaper copy.” [Edward J. Larson, Hugh & Hazel Darling Chair in Law, Pepperdine University]
“I agree that the Cover Letter addressed to the Confederation Congress, drafted by Gouverneur Morris and signed by George Washington as Convention President, should be included in the exhibit. The Constitutional Convention chose to send this beautifully written and powerfully argued Cover Letter to Congress–instead of sending an address to the American people–to accompany the completed and signed Constitution.” [Stuart Leibiger, Department of Humanity & Society Chair, La Salle University]