MAP 6.7 Ratifying the Constitution of 1787
In 1907, geographer Owen Libby Mapped the votes of members of the state conventions that ratified the Constitution. His map showed that most delegates from seaboard or commercial farming districts (which sent many delegates to the conventions) supported the Constitution, while those from sparsely represented, subsistence-oriented backcountry areas opposed it. Subsequent research has confirmed Libby’s socioeconomic interpretation of the voting patterns in North and South Carolina and in Massachusetts. However, other states’ delegates were influenced by different factors. For example, in Georgia, delegates from all regions voted for ratification.