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Randolph, Edmund
RANDOLPH, EDMUND [Randolph, Edmund] 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 Hamilton's constant pressure to secure a favorable treaty with England rather than one with France. In 1795 the British captured dispatches of the French minister to the United States, which implied (falsely) that Randolph would welcome French money, whereupon President Washington forced his resignation. Randolph returned to the practice of law in Virginia, and many years passed before his name was entirely cleared. In 1807 he was chief counsel for Aaron Burr in his trial for treason.

Bibliography: See M. D. Conway, Omitted Chapters of History Disclosed in the Life and Papers of Edmund Randolph (1888, repr. 1971); H. J. Eckenrode, The Randolphs (1946).
Author not available, RANDOLPH, EDMUND., The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition 2006
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2006 Columbia University
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Colonial Williamsburg foundation
Edmund Randolph
Born August 10, 1753 in Williamsburg, Virginia
Parents: John and Ariana Jenings Randolph
Siblings: Susannah Beverly and Ariana
Spouse: Elizabeth Nicholas
Children: Peyton, Susan, John Jenings, Edmonia, and Lucy
Died September 13,1813 at Carter Hall, Frederick County, Virginia
Attended College of William & Mary

Edmund's "autobiographical" letter states that he and his wife learned the basics of reading at a local school. He attended the College of William and Mary grammar and philosophy schools in 1770 – 1771. After leaving William and Mary, he studied law, but it is unknown from whom he received his instruction. It is possible that he studied with his father, John.

Practiced law until his death

In 1774, Thomas Jefferson retired from his law practice and turned his clients over to Edmund Randolph. Edmund practiced law until his death, although he did so only part-time while he held public office.

Served in public offices

Edmund Randolph served in the following positions:

Clerk of the Committee on Courts and Justice, House of Burgesses, May 1774
Deputy Muster Master General of the Continental Army, Southern District, 1775 – 1776 (he was appointed to this position by the Continental Congress. He had to resign when he was elected to the Virginia Convention.)
Aide-de-camp to General Washington, August – November 1775
Delegate (representing Williamsburg) to the Fifth Virginia Convention, 1776
Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Virginia, 1776-1786
Mayor of Williamsburg, 1776 – 1777; Justice of the Peace for James City County, 1777
Clerk of the Virginia House of Delegates, 1778 – 1779
Delegate to the Continental Congress, 1779, 1781 –1786
Governor of Virginia, 1786 – 1788
Delegate to the Constitutional Convention, 1787
Delegate to the Virginia Ratification Convention, 1788
United States Attorney General, 1789 – 1794
United States Secretary of State, 1794 – 1795
Resided in:

Williamsburg, 1753 – 1775
Philadelphia and Boston, July 1775 – November 1776
Williamsburg, December 1776 – early 1780
Richmond, Virginia, 1780 – 1813
Disagreement with John Randolph

The only evidence about the tension that must have existed between Edmund and his father, John, as the colonies moved to war with Great Britain is a letter from Benjamin Harrison to General George Washington written July 21, 1775. In this letter, Harrison reported that Edmund was seeking support for his effort to become an aide to General Washington. Harrison noted that Edmund made his decision to join the army at Boston without consulting anyone and that he did so because he feared "his father's conduct may tend to lesson him in the esteem of his countrymen." By joining the American army, Edmund may have felt that his loyalty to the colonial cause would not be questioned. His father's reaction to Edmund's act is summed up in a line from a letter he wrote to his son in August 1775: "For God's Sake, return to your Family & indeed to yourself."
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RANDOLPH, Edmund Jenings, (1753 - 1813)
Edmund Randolph
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Edmund Jennings Randolph (August 10, 1753 – September 12, 1813) was an American attorney, Governor of Virginia, Secretary of State, and the first United States Attorney General.

Randolph was born at Tazewell Hall to the prominent colonial Randolph family in Williamsburg, Virginia, and he was educated in law at the College of William and Mary. After graduation he began practicing law with his father John Randolph's firm. In 1775, with the start of the American Revolution, his father remained a Loyalist and returned to Britain; Edmund Randolph then lived with his uncle, Peyton Randolph. He also joined the Continental Army as aide-de-camp to General George Washington.

Upon the death of his uncle Peyton Randolph he went to Virginia to act as executor of the estate, and while there was elected as a representative to the state constitutional convention. He would go on to serve as mayor of Williamsburg, and then as the first Attorney General of Virginia under the newly-formed state government.

Randolph was selected as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1779, and served there to 1782. During this period he also remained in private law practice, handling numerous legal issues for George Washington among others.

Randolph was elected Governor of Virginia in 1786, that same year leading a delegation to the Annapolis Convention. The following year, as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, he introduced the Virginia Plan as an outline for a new national government. He argued against importation of slaves and in favor of a strong central government, advocating a plan for three chief executives from various parts of the country. The Virginia Plan also proposed two houses, where in both of them, delegates were chosen based on state population. He was also a member of the "committee on detail" which was tasked with converting the Virginia Plan's 15 resolutions into a first draft of the Constitution. Randolph, however, refused to sign the final document, believing the form of government it would engender had insufficient checks and balances, and published an account of his objections in October 1787. He nevertheless urged its ratification in 1788, seeing its adoption as necessary at that point.

He was appointed U.S. Attorney General in September 1789, maintaining a precarious neutrality in the feud between Thomas Jefferson (of whom Randolph was a distant relative) and Alexander Hamilton. When Jefferson resigned as Secretary of State in 1793, Randolph succeeded him to the position. In this post he held a similar strict neutrality between the interests of France and Britain, earning the scorn of both in the process.

Randolph set forth the guidelines for John Jay's mission to London in 1794. These were, however, ignored. The resulting Jay's Treaty left Randolph to mollify both France and the Federalists; in this he was largely unsuccessful.

Near the end of his term as Secretary of State negotiations for Pinckney's Treaty were finalized.

A scandal involving an intercepted French message implying Randolph was prone to bribery led to his resignation in August 1795, although the allegations were provably unfounded.

After leaving the cabinet he returned to Virginia to practice law; his most famous case was that of defense counsel during Aaron Burr's trial for treason in 1807.

Randolph died at his home, Carter Hall, near Millwood, Virginia in Clarke County.
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Biographical Directory of the Inited States Congress 1774-Present
RANDOLPH, Edmund Jenings, (nephew of Peyton Randolph), a Delegate from Virginia; born in Williamsburg, Va., August 10, 1753; was graduated from the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va.; studied law; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Williamsburg; served in the Revolutionary Army and was aide-de-camp to General Washington; attorney general of Virginia in 1776; Member of the Continental Congress in 1779, 1781, and 1782; elected Governor of Virginia in 1786 but resigned in 1788 to serve in the State house of delegates in order that he might participate in the codification of the laws of Virginia in 1788 and 1789; delegate to the Federal Convention in Philadelphia in 1787; was appointed the first Attorney General of the United States, in the Cabinet of President Washington, on September 26, 1789; transferred to the State Department as Secretary of State on January 2, 1794, and served until August 19, 1795, when he was requested to resign following charges (subsequently found to be false) preferred by Minister Fauchet of France; was the principal counsel for Aaron Burr when the latter was tried for treason; died in Clarke County, Va., September 12, 1813; interment in the Old Chapel Cemetery, Millwood, Va.
Bibliography
Reardon, John J. Edmund Randolph. New York: Macmillen
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http://www.multied.com/Bio/RevoltBIOS/RANDOLPHEdmund.html
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Randolph, Edmund (1753-1813) Governor of Virginia: Randolph attended the College of William and Mary, then studied law under his father, John Randolph. Edmund Randolph's uncle, Peyton, was first president of the Continental Congress. After serving briefly as an aide-de-camp to General Washington in 1775, Randolph began his public career. He served as a delegate to the Virginia Convention in 1776, Attorney-General of Virginia from 1776 to 1786, a member of Congress in 1779, and Governor of Virginia from 1781 to 1782. Randolph was a delegate to the Annapolis Convention of 1786, and attended the Constitutional Convention of 1787, where he presented the Virginia Plan. He helped support the Constitution in the Virginia ratifying convention of 1788, although he was not able to sign the document. As a representative in the state legislature, Randolph helped revise Virginia's laws, then served under Washington as Attorney-General. He became Secretary of State in 1794, but was forced to resign when a letter by the French minister containing damaging references was captured. Randolph published A Vindication of Mr. Randolph's Resignation, in an attempt to clear his name. Although he made a substantial living from his private law practice, he was never able to overcome his debt.