Page 185 - American Stories, A History of the United States

Explore Ratification
6.1

of the Constitution
6.2
on MyHistoryLab

6.3
why DiD ratiFicatiOn
OF the cOnstitUtiOn
6.4 Face OppOsitiOn?

The early American republic found
itself with a legal foundation
based on the weak Articles of
Confederation. Ratification of a
new constitution, however, faced
opposition up and down the new
United States. For example, the the cOnstitUtiOn The Constitution, the supreme law of the United States, was
inhabitants of cities, with economies adopted on September 17, 1787, by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. it replaced
the Articles of Confederation and established a stronger central government.
linked tightly to commerce, were
more likely to be divided on the RATIFICATION OF THE CONSTITUTION
issue since the Constitution would Ratification Vote
provide the national government State Date of Ratification (yes–no)
with more power over trade. Areas Delaware Dec. 8, 1787 30–0
of the country with high populations Pennsylvania Dec. 12, 1787 46–23
of non-English Europeans, groups New Jersey Dec. 18, 1787 38–0
such as the Scots-Irish, often opposed Georgia Jan. 2, 1788 26–0
ratification out of a concern that Connecticut Jan. 9, 1788 128–40
that the document would give those Massachusetts Feb. 16, 1788 187–168
of English descent more power. Maryland April 28, 1788 63–11
Ratified—sometimes narrowly— South Carolina May 23, 1788 149–73
by all the states via constitutional
conventions between 1787 and 1790, New Hampshire June 21, 1788 57–46
the new document provided the virginia June 25, 1788 80–79
young nation with a more powerful New York July 26, 1788 30–27
and centralized federal government. North Carolina Nov. 21, 1789 184–77
Rhode island May 29, 1790 34–32
SOURCe: Orin Grant Libby, “The Geographical Distribution of the vote of the Thirteen Sates on the Federal
Constitution, 1787–8,” Bulletin of the University of Wisconsin, economics, Political Science, and History Series 1, no.1
(June 1894), 1–116

K e y Q u es t I o N s Use MyhistoryLab Explorer to answer these questions:

consequence What was response Did the level of analysis What was the
the relation between Loyalism slavery in an area affect opinion opinion in areas with a large
in the Revolutionary War and towards ratification? German settler population?
subsequent views on ratification? Map the level of opposition Conceptualize why members of
investigate opinions on of ratification in slave-holding this group and others saw the
ratification in Loyalist regions. Constitution's adoption the way
strongholds. they did.

152