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Randolph, Edmund

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
1753–1813, American statesman, b. Williamsburg, Va.; nephew of Peyton Randolph. He studied law under his father, John Randolph, a Loyalist who went to England at the outbreak of the American Revolution. He served briefly in the Continental army as aide-de-camp to George Washington. He was a member of the Virginia constitutional convention of 1776, state attorney general (1776–86), a delegate to the Continental Congress (1779–82), and governor of Virginia (1786–88). Randolph was prominent at the Constitutional Convention in 1787, presenting the Virginia, or Randolph, Plan, which favored the large states. He at first vigorously opposed the Constitution as finally drafted, although his plan, more than any other, closely resembled it; later he urged its adoption in the Virginia ratifying convention (June, 1788). First Attorney General of the United States (1789–94), he left that post to succeed Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State. Like Jefferson, he had difficulties because of Alexander…
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Full text Article RANDOLPH, EDMUND (1753-1813)

From The Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of the American Enlightenment
Born in Williamsburg, Virginia, Edmund Randolph was the son of John Randolph (1727-1784), the attorney general of the Colony of Virginia, and Ariana Jenings Randolph. Educated at the local Grammar School and the College of William and Mary, he undertook the study of law, probably reading with his…
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Edmund Jennings Randolph (The Library of Congress)
Edward Jennings Randolph served as U.S. attorney general from 1789 to 1794 under President George Washington. Randolph, who later served as Washington’s secretary of state, also played a critical role in drafting a key provision of the U.S. Constitution dealing with the structure of the legislative…
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Full text Article Randolph

From The Great American History Fact-Finder
Family name of four generations of Virginians. William Randolph (1651?–1711), an English-born settler, became a leading planter of Virginia. He served as attorney general for the Crown in Virginia and was a cofounder of the College of William and Mary. His grandson Peyton Randolph (1721?–75) served…
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Full text Article RANDOLPH, JOHN (1727-84)

From The Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of the American Enlightenment
Upon setting sail for Britain at the outbreak of the American Revolution, John “the Tory” Randolph wrote to his friend and cousin, Thomas Jefferson, that they were “steering opposite courses” and that “the success of either lies in the womb of Time.” This letter marked the end of Randolph's time in…
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Full text Article Edmund Jenings Randolph (1753-1813)

From The Encyclopedia of The Continental Congresses
Edmund Jenings Randolph (1753-1813)
Randolph is known as the first attorney general in the cabinet of President George Washington and as the second secretary of state after Thomas Jefferson resigned. He also served in the Continental Congress (1779, 1781, 1782), as governor of Virginia (1786-88), and as a delegate to the…
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Full text Article Randolph, Edmund

From American Biographies: American Political Leaders
(b. 1753–d. 1813) Constitutional Convention delegate, attorney general, secretary of state Edmund Randolph was a distinguished patriot during the Revolutionary War, the first attorney general of the United States, and the second secretary of state (after Thomas Jefferson). His famous Randolph Plan…
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Full text Article Randolph, Edmund

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
1753–1813, American statesman, b. Williamsburg, Va.; nephew of Peyton Randolph. He studied law under his father, John Randolph, a Loyalist who went to England at the outbreak of the American Revolution. He served briefly in the Continental army as aide-de-camp to George Washington. He was a member…
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Full text Article Randolph, Edmund Jennings

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
(born Aug. 10, 1753, Willliamsburg, Va.—died Sept. 12, 1813, Clark county, Va., U.S.) U.S. politician. He helped draft Virginia’s constitution (1776) and served in the Continental Congress (1779–82). He was a delegate to the Annapolis Convention and the Constitutional Convention , where he presented…
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©UNIVERSALIMAGESGROUP/GETTY IMAGES
Gouverneur...
Governor Edmund Randolph (1753–1813) of Virginia was the first member of the Constitutional Convention to propose that the new frame of government “ought to have a preamble.” On July 26, 1787, he amplified his original proposal: The object of our preamble ought to be briefly to declare that the…
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William Paterson (left), who would later serve as...
Beginning on May 25, 1785, and running for approximately five months, the Constitutional Convention consisted of an assembly of delegates who convened in Philadelphia at Independence Hall. They initially met to discuss revisions to the Articles of Confederation but soon abandoned the revision in…
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