Delegates met at Mount Vernon to settle issues not addressed in the
Articles of Confederation, creating a model for interstate cooperation.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE [ edit ]
Examine the significance of the Mount Vernon Conference in shping the American political
structure
KEY POINTS [ edit ]
Nationalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, convened theAnnapolis Convention in 1786 to petition
for a constitutional convention.
Delegates from Virginia and Maryland met at George Washington's home at Mount Vernon,
Virginia in March 1785 at the Mount Vernon Conference.
The conference established commerce, fishing, and navigation rights between Maryland and
Virginia.
The Mount Vernon Conference was an important precursor to the Annapolis Convention.
TERM [ edit ]
Mount Vernon Conference
A meeting of delegates from Virginia and Maryland at George Washington's home at Mount
Vernon, Virginia in March 1785.
Give us feedback on this content: FULL TEXT [ edit ]
While serving as George Washington's top aide, Alexander Hamilton realized that a strong
central government was necessary to avoid foreign intervention and allay the frustrations
caused by an ineffectual Congress. Hamilton led a group of like­minded nationalists, won
Washington's endorsement, and convened the Annapolis Convention in 1786 to petition
Congress to call a constitutional convention to meet in Philadelphia to remedy the long­term
crisis.
The Mount Vernon Conference was a meeting of delegates from Virginia and Maryland at
Washington's home at Mount Vernon, Virginia in March 1785. It preceded the Annapolis
Convention and was a precursor of the 1787 Philadelphia Convention that saw the drafting of
the United States Constitution. The conference was a meeting of Samuel Chase, Daniel of St.
Thomas Jenifer, and Thomas Stone of Maryland; and Alexander Henderson and George
Mason of Virginia. James Madison and Edmund Randolph were also appointed as Virginia
delegates but were not informed by Virginia governor Patrick Henry and did not attend. The
delegates initially met in Alexandria, Virginia, but Washington invited all five delegates to his
nearby house at Mount Vernon. They convened there in March with Washington presiding.
Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon, aquatint by Francis Jukes, 1800
They were charged with dealing with issues of commerce, fishing, and navigation in the
waters of the Potomac River, Pocomoke River, and Chesapeake Bay. These issues were not
addressed directly by the Articles of Confederation, which regulated the thirteen largely
independent American states at the time, nor by the authorization of the Potomac Company
a year earlier (which was to regulate the Potomac above the Great Falls).
The conference was a success, and a report was prepared for the two state legislatures in
March 1785. The report contained thirteen proposals known as the Mount Vernon Compact,
ratified by both Maryland and Virginia. It declared the Potomac, which was under
Maryland's sole jurisdiction, to be a common waterway for use by Virginia as well. It also
provided for reciprocal fishing rights, the division of the costs of constructing
navigation aids, and cooperation on defense and cases of piracy. It also called for
commissioners to deal with any future problems that might arise. The Mount Vernon
delegates encouraged Pennsylvania and Delaware to join the agreement as well.
The conference was significant as a model of interstate cooperation outside the framework of
the weak Articles of Confederation. Its success encouraged Madison to advocate further
discussion of constitutional issues facing the states. He had little to show for efforts to get
Virginia's delegates in the Continental Congress to seek expanded powers to deal with trade
issues. Instead, he introduced a proposal in the Virginia General Assembly to act on the
suggestion of the Compact commissioners for further debate of interstate issues.
On January 21, 1786, Virginia invited all the states to attend a meeting on commercial issues;
this would be the ground­breaking Annapolis Convention. In 1787, the Philadelphia
Convention further expanded cooperation to include all of the states in an effort to reform or
replace the Confederation.