1786 & 1788
James Madison visited George Washington at Mount Vernon on at least two occasions during the 1780s, often while traveling between political duties in Philadelphia, Richmond, and New York. These visits reflected not only a close personal friendship but also a shared dedication to the nation’s emerging constitutional government.
In the autumn of 1786, Madison accompanied James and Elizabeth Monroe to Mount Vernon for a brief stay from October 23 to 25, as recorded in Washington’s diary. The three men had recently attended the Annapolis Convention, where they discussed reforms to strengthen the Articles of Confederation, a prelude to the Constitutional Convention that would meet the following year. Their conversations at Mount Vernon likely continued these pressing discussions on national unity and governance.
Madison returned to Mount Vernon in the summer of 1788, shortly after the Virginia convention ratified the new U.S. Constitution. In a letter dated June 23, 1788, Washington wrote to Madison from Mount Vernon, expressing concern for his health and urging him to rest at the estate before continuing to New York. “Relaxation must have become indispensably necessary for your health,” Washington advised, “and for that reason I presume to advise you to take a little respite from business and to express a wish that part of the time might be spent under this roof.”
Madison accepted the invitation, arriving at Mount Vernon on the afternoon of July 4, 1788, and remaining until July 7. The timing was fitting: Madison, soon to be known as the “Father of the Constitution,” spent Independence Day in the company of the acclaimed general of the Revolution.