RANDOLPH, Edmund (1753-1813). Secretarial Letter Signed by Randolph. Philadelphia 30th May 1794. Addressed “Sir/” and docketed at lower left corner to “Robert Weare [sic] Fox Esq.” 1 4to page on folded bifolium, all other pages blank, on watermarked laid paper. Each page approximately 9 ¼ x 7 ¾”. Each page with one vertical and two horizontal creases, p. 1 with a chip, damage, and tear at lower left corner, not affecting text. Very good. This letter appoints Robert Were Fox the Consul at the Port of Falmouth in the Kingdom of Great Britain. RANDOLPH WAS A FOUNDING FATHER OF THE UNITED STATES, and was the first United States Attorney General and the second Secretary of State, both under George Washington (one of Randolph’s unofficial duties as a member of Washington’s cabinet, was to mediate conflicts between Alexander Hamilton and his second cousin, Thomas Jefferson). Before those posts, he was a member of the Virginia delegation to the Constitutional Convention, introducing the “Virginia Plan,” arguing against the importation of enslaved people (despite the fact he was a slave owner), a strong central government, but advocated for 3 chief executives for different parts of the United States. He also argued for a bicameral legislature and a central judiciary. He did not sign the final draft of the constitution, as it lacked sufficient checks and balances. Later, however, as a member of the Virginia Ratifying Convention, he urged the adoption of the national constitution.