Virginia and New York. The Federal Procession. Summary and Analysis

Massachusetts is the sixth state to ratify. Maryland follows afterward, suggesting amendments of its own in the manner of Massachusetts. At the end of May, South Carolina ratifies, the eighth of the nine states needed to put the Constitution in force.

Virginia is largely antifederalist. Its convention closely examines each clause of the Constitution, tearing it apart. The antifederalists are led by the prominent Patrick Henry. Edmund Randolph, who introduced the Virginia Resolves at the Convention but eventually refused to sign the final plan, is the Governor of Virginia. He is widely thought to be an antifederalist, but Bowen says that since the Convention he has begun to change his thinking. When Randolph addresses the Virginia ratification convention, he offers a compromise based on the actions of Massachusetts and...