Debating the Constitution in New York State

Although the Constitution was eventually approved by all thirteen states, the battle over its ratification revealed a deeply divided nation. Antifederalist delegates dominated conventions in Massachusetts, Virginia, and New York, where intense debates erupted. When Massachusetts and Virginia finally ratified the Constitution by close votes, the New York convention was still in session.

As elsewhere, New York delegates debated questions of representation, the increased powers of the federal government, and a bill of rights. Before the convention opened, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay offered fellow New Yorkers pro-Constitution arguments in The Federalist Papers (Document 7.5). At the convention, Hamilton emphasized the need for a strong central government in which checks and balances limited the power of any single branch and insisted on accommodating the views of diverse groups, including southern slaveholders (Document 7.7).

A secretary recorded the speeches of Hamilton and other delegates, like Melancton Smith and John Williams. Smith was a large landowner and a New York City merchant, but he led the state’s Antifederalists and questioned the expansion of federal power and the limits on representation (Document 7.6). Williams, a farmer from rural Washington County and thus a more typical Antifederalist, criticized the Constitution more adamantly. He distrusted federal power, disliked the system of representation, and worried about America’s moral decline (Document 7.8). However, the Federalists eventually prevailed, with Hamilton, Smith, and twenty-eight other delegates voting yes and Williams one of the twenty-seven no votes. The slim victory elated the Federalist newspaper, the Massachusetts Centinel, which followed the debates closely and tracked each state that ratified the Constitution (Document 7.9). The intensity of the ratification debates highlights the competing ideas and interests among Americans. It also shows the willingness of Federalists to compromise on issues like a bill of rights while insisting on the necessity of a new political structure.