James Madison expressed a fear that George Washington would waste his political capital by attending an “abortive” convention. Madison wondered if Washington should hold off on his appearance until some progress had been made, suggesting that Benjamin Franklin might provide “sufficient dignity into the Chair” of the convention until the proper time. Washington had left Virginia by the time Edmund Randolph received this letter and arrived in Philadelphia in time to help Madison and other members of the Virginia delegation to draft a proposed plan of government, known as the “Virginia Plan.”