Ratifying the Constitution

by Michael Allen Gillespie (Editor), Michael Lienesch (Editor)

Overview

In his foreword to this volume, Forrest McDonald points out that while the drafting of the Constitution has inspired a large body of historical writing, "that on the ratification of the instrument, though an event of equal importance and far greater drama, is relatively small." This volume fills that gap; it is, according to McDonald, "the most extensive treatment of the subject yet undertaken." A diverse group of historians and political theorists examine the interrelationship of the theoretical debate and the political process on a state-by-state basis, unraveling the labyrinthine complexity of ratification.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780700605668
Publisher:	University Press of Kansas
Publication date:	05/10/1989
Edition description:	Revised ed.
Pages:	432
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Introduction, Michael Allen Gillespie and Michael Lienesch

Part One. The Promise of Prosperity

1. Delaware: Independence and the Concept of a Commercial Republic, Gaspare J. Saladino

2. Pennsylvania: Representation and the Meaning of Republicanism, George J. Graham, Jr.

3. New Jersey: Property and the Price of Republican Politics, Sara M. Shumer

Part Two. Restoring Stability

4. Georgia: Searching for Security, Edward J. Cashin

5. Connecticut: Achieving Consent and Assuring Control, Donald S. Lutz

6. Massachusetts: Creating Consensus, Michael Allen Gillespie

Part Three. The Consolidation of Political Cultures

7. Maryland: The Small Republic in the New Nation, Peter S. Onuf

8. South Carolina: Slavery and the Structure of the Union, Robert M. Weir

9. New Hampshire: Puritanism and the Moral Foundations of America, Jean Yarbrough

Part Four. The Search for Political Solutions

10. Virginia: Sectionalism and the General Good, Lance Banning

11. New York: Federalism and the Political Economy of Union, Cecil L. Eubanks

Part Five. The Rationale of Resistance

12. North Carolina: Preserving Rights, Michael Lienesch

13. Rhode Island: Protecting State Interests, John P. Kaminski

Afterword, Wilson Carey McWilliams

The Contributors

Index

Editorial Reviews

"The particular strength of this book is in its state-by-state approach and in its close focus on the particular issues, personalities, and factional divisions in each state and the effect that these had on the ratification decision."—Journal of Politics

"This book demonstrates the value of a state-by-state methodology. Its best essays trace connections between a state’s internal politics and its place in the confederation and its people’s consideration of the proposed Constitution."—Journal of American History

"The reader will come away from this study with an understanding that the ratification of the Constitution was scarcely less miraculous than its drafting."—Forrest McDonald, author of Novus Ordo Seclorum: The Intellectual Origins of the Constitution

"This ought to be seen as the eighth volume of Storing, one that completes the debate over ratification. A fine, important book, likely to be consulted by scholars for many years."—Wilson Carey McWilliams, author of The Idea of Fraternity in America

From the Publisher

The particular strength of this book is in its state-by-state approach.

Journal of Politics