Randolph, Edmund Jennings

Randolph, Edmund Jennings

(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 the Virginia (or large-state) Plan, which influenced the final draft of the Constitution of the United States. As governor of Virginia (1786–88), he effected the state's ratification of the Constitution. He served as U.S. attorney general (1789–94) and secretary of state (1794–95) but resigned after he was falsely accused of accepting a bribe from the French to influence the U.S. government against Britain. He returned to his law practice and served as chief counsel for Aaron Burr in his 1807 trial.