Includes bibliographical references (p. [491]-559) and index.

Contents: The morning after -- "Take this or nothing" -- A war of printed words : the national debate begins -- The Pennsylvania ratifying convention-- with Delaware, New Jersey, and Georgia -- "We the people" of Connecticut and Massachusetts -- The Massachusetts Convention I : the "conversation" begins -- The Massachusetts Convention II : "--with cordiality" -- A rough road to Richmond : New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maryland, and South Carolina -- The Virginia Convention I : a battle of giants -- The Virginia Convention II : under the eyes of heaven -- On to Poughkeepsie -- The New York Convention I : a failure of oratory -- The New York Convention II : in or out? -- Some final twists : the North Carolina Convention, a meeting in Pennsylvania, and the ratification story draws to an end.


The dramatic story of the debate over the ratification of the Constitution, the first new account of this seminal moment in American history in years.