In 1785 Thomas Jefferson is sent to Paris to succede Benjamin Franklin as ambassador to France. He would spend four years in France, missing the constitutional convention and witnessing the beginnings of the French Revolution, and when he returned Washington selected him to be Secretary of State. I am wondering what might have happened if Jefferson had not been sent to France, or anywhere for that matter, as a diplomat?
If Jefferson either wasn't picked to go or refused to position who would have most likely been sent in his place? He missed the constitutional convention because he was in France. Would he have likely attened the convention if he was not in Paris? What effects might this have on the convention and the document produced there? Would it be largely the same, or radically different? Washington selected Jefferson for this position because of his experience abroad. Would he still have picked Jefferson if he didn't have this experience? If not than who would he pick to be secretary of state?