Page View
Kaminski, John P.; Saladino, Gaspare J.; Leffler, Richard; Schoenleber, Charles H.; Hogan, Margaret A.; Reid, Jonathan M. (ed.) / Ratification of the Constitution by the states: New York (5)
23 (2009)
VI. Commentaries on the New York Convention, 8 June-30 July 1788, pp. 2341-2380
Page 2341
VI. COMMENTARIES ON THE NEW YORK CONVENTION 8 June-30 July 1788 Introduction The documents printed below consist almost entirely of brief letters and newspaper reports. They comment on the Convention's proceed- ings and debates in general terms, not lending themselves to being placed under specific days. Part VI begins with a grouping of documents on the departure of Convention delegates from New York City and their arrival in Pough- keepsie. Letter writers and newspaper reports discuss the appointment of Convention officers and the number of delegates in attendance; the strength of the supporters and opponents of the Constitution; the level of party spirit and altercations between delegates; the strategies of each party in obtaining, delaying, or rejecting ratification or placing condi- tions upon it; the all-important role of amendments in determining the nature of ratification (conditional or unconditional); the characters of the delegates and the quality of their speeches; the progress of the Convention in covering each paragraph of the Constitution; the pros- pects of ratification or speculation about when it would occur; and the publication of the Convention debates and journal. Some documents report on the ratification of the Constitution by New Hampshire and Virginia and the impact on New York, while others refer to the actions being taken by the Confederation Congress to prepare for the establish- ment of the new government under the Constitution after New Hamp- shire became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution. An important exchange of letters between Convention delegate Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, a member of Congress, considers whether or not Congress would accept a conditional ratification from New York. Reports of Convention Delegates Traveling to Poughkeepsie, 8-30 June 1788 George Clinton, Melancton Smith, and Nathaniel Lawrence to Robert Yates and John Lansing, Jr, New York, 8 June 17881 Mr. A. Yates has communicated to us a Letter from John Lansing, Esqr. suggesting the propriety of meeting with you, and some other 2341
Copyright 2009 Wisconsin Historical Society Press.| For information on re-use see: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/Copyright