Ratification: New Hampshire
from Constitution Thursday Hosted by Dave Bowman
In the summer of 2016, the idea that an election could be "rigged" didn't really surprise anybody. At the same time, it also allowed Americans of all political stripes to act like Captain Renault and feign shock at the idea that American democracy could be so callously and easily manipulated. New Hampshire was the first of the Colonies to establish a government independent of the Crown and to establish its own state Constitution. In the Spring and Summer of 1788, New Hampshire has a unique opportunity. If she ratifies, she will become the Ninth Pillar, thus establishing the Constitution as the new government of The United States. But she also faces the same problem that South Carolina, Massachusetts, and other States have seen. That is, that the seaboard cities with their heavy mercantile class population support ratification, while the interior country folks are less enamored with the Constitution. New Hampshire's problem is that her seaboard is tiny and heavily outnumbered by the country folk. So... if you happen to be an ardent Federalist in New Hampshire in the Spring of 1788, what do you do? What do you do? Hmmm.....
Embed this episode
No transcript yet.