Dear Colleague Letter to be sent to the National Archives
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” ratification resolutions, 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 cover 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 “5thpage”) 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-paged newspapers 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 “[t]he 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)
Robert J. Allison, PhD (Professor of History, Suffolk University)
J. Jackson Barlow, PhD (Director, Program in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, Juniata College)
Rebecca Brannon, PhD (Professor of History, James Madison University)
Richard Brookhiser (historian, biographer, journalist)
Andrew H. Browning, PhD (author of The Panic of 1819, Schools for Statesmen, and Rescuing the Republic)
Denver Brunsman, PhD (Department of History Chair, George Washington University)
Todd Estes, PhD (Professor of History, Oakland University)
Michael J. Faber, PhD (Department of Political Science, Texas State University)
Jonathan Gienapp, PhD (Associate Professor of History and Law, Nehal and Jenny Fan Raj Civics Faculty Fellow in Undergraduate Teaching, Stanford University)
John Herzog (Retired Wall Street Executive, Board Member & Assistant Treasurer, Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society)
Peter Charles Hoffer, PhD (Distinguished Research Professor, University of Georgia)
Calvin H. Johnson, JD (Andrews & Kurth Centennial Professorship in Law, University of Texas at Austin School of Law)
John P. Kaminski, PhD (Center for the Study of the American Constitution, Editor, Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution)
Stephen F. Knott, PhD (U.S. Naval War College, retired)
Edward L. Larson, PhD (Hugh & Hazel Darling Chair in Law, Pepperdine University)
Richard Leffler, PhD (Center for the Study of the American Constitution, Deputy Director and Co-Editor Emeriti, Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution)
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)
Charles T. Long, PhD (Emeritus Faculty, George Washington University)
Mariana Oller, MA, MS (Associate Curator of Special Collections, Wellesley College, Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society, Chair)
Thomas Oller, PhD (Senior Lecturer, Boston University, Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society, Vice Chair)
Rosalind Remer, PhD (Senior Vice Provost, Libraries, Collections & Archives Founding Director, Lenfest Center for Cultural Partnerships; Chair, Board of Managers, Lenfest Institute for Journalism; Vice-chair, American Antiquarian Society; Senior Advisor, A-Mark Foundation)
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)
Andrew M. Schocket, PhD (Bowling Green State University)
Jason Sharples, PhD (Florida Atlantic University)
Colleen Sheehan, PhD (Arizona State University)
Mark Shubert (Incorporator and Chair of Tarpeia)
David J. Siemers, PhD (Distinguished Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh)
William M. Treanor, PhD (Agnes Williams Sesquicentennial Professor of Constitutional Law and Constitutional History; Dean Emeritus, Georgetown)
Sergio Villavicencio (Vice President, Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society)
John R. Vile, PhD (Dean and Professor of Political Science, Middle Tennessee State University)
Greg Weiner, PhD (President, Assumption University; Professor of Political Science)
Additional names to be added (To add your name to the signature list, kindly email adam@statututesandstories.com or john.kaminski@wisc.edu)
Sample statements in support of the friendly suggestion 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!” [William B. 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]
“I absolutely agree that the letter should be included in the exhibit; the letter is practically a part of the Constitution that the Convention adopted, and it was seen as important at the time by both proponents of the Constitution and the opposition.” [Michael J. Faber, Associate Professor, Texas State University]
“The letter to Congress is one of only two examples of Washington opening his mind about the draft constitution (the other is in convention, when he supported a change from forty to thirty thousand for the House of Representatives). It urges opponents and proponents alike to moderation in their arguments, and sympathetic engagements with those who disagree. Including the letter is an important step in understanding the minds of the Constitution’s framers.” [J. Jackson Barlow, Charles A. Dana Professor of Politics, Emeritus, Juniata College]
“The transmittal letter that the Convention sent Congress along with the Constitution itself has appropriately been styled the Constitution’s cover letter because it explains what the convention was trying to do in drafting the Constitution. It is the only official statement of the Convention about their work. Even more than the treasured fifth page of the Constitution you are including, it was a critical part of the ratification process and would be a wonderful addition to the display.” [William M. Treanor, PhD, Agnes Williams Sesquicentennial Professor of Constitutional Law and Constitutional History; Dean Emeritus, Georgetown Law]
“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.” [Carol Berkin, Presidential Professor of History, Emerita, Baruch College & The Graduate Center, City University of New York]
“I agree wholeheartedly that the transmittal or cover letter should be included with the other materials. It is important for many reasons, not the least of which is that it describes the spirit of amity, deference, and mutual concessions as having been crucial to the success of the Convention and also, by extension, suggests how the American people should understand the Constitution and also implies that the same approach might be productive in the forthcoming project of ratification.” [Todd Estes, Professor of History, Oakland University]
“The cover letter is a remarkable document that deepens our understanding of the Convention’s work and the pivot to the ratification debates when the fate of the Constitution remained so uncertain. Including it will enhance public understanding.” [Jonathan Gienapp, Associate Professor of History, Stanford University]
“It was absolutely necessary for the Constitution to be approved UNANIMOUSLY. Yet unanimity alone would not have been as impactful, as decisive, without the endorsement of George Washington, who had recused himself from the forthcoming ratification process. It was Washington’s endorsement that added weight to the aura of unanimity, and he expressed it in the letter now known as the Cover Letter of the Constitution. That letter is among the most consequential documents in the nation’s history and deserves to be displayed not only in future iterations of this exhibit, but permanently by the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence.” [Sergio Villavicencio, Vice President, Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society]
“The Cover Letter is a necessary addition to the exhibit on display. It is a primary document which shows, in part, the civic philosophy of our founding, namely the social contract theory. A concept which permeates the work of the founding generation from Thomas Paine’s Common Sense to the Declaration of Independence but has since been forgotten in modern times. The civic philosophy of the founders must be rediscovered for us to reevaluate and use to keep the republic going. Displaying the Cover Letter will garner curiosity in Americans to ask about what the founders believed and whether their beliefs are applicable today.” [Mark Shubert, Incorporator and Chair of Tarpeia]
“The cover letter very much ranks among America’s founding documents. Today, as we look back on a Constitution venerated in the Madisonian style, it is easy to forget that, in the fall of 1787, its adoption was no sure thing. The measured and thoughtful manner in which the cover letter framed the ratification debate that ensued was essential to the success that followed.” [Greg Weiner, President, Assumption University; Professor of Political Science]
“The inclusion of the cover letter is an excellent, I would say a necessary, thing to do. The letter’s expression of the need to add to the powers of the general government, for a separation of those powers, the call to the people and the states to give up some “share of Liberty to preserve the rest,” and the “Spirit of Amity” and the “Deference” that animated the delegates to the Convention are so essential to understanding the origins of the Constitution and the long success of the United States that they demand presentation to the people who view this exhibit.” [Richard Leffler, Center for the Study of the American Constitution]
“While the cover letter is largely unknown today, it was widely cited during the late 18th and 19th centuries. Its message and themes continued to resonate post ratification, particularly during times of crisis. In particular, the cover letter’s ‘spirit of amity’ and ‘mutual deference and concession’ would be invoked by multiple presidents, including George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.” [Adam P. Levinson, Esq., Gilder Lehrman Scholarly Fellow]
