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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
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