Ratification: The First State

What this episode covers

The first State conventions in Pennsylvania and Delaware are called to debate the proposed Constitution. While Pennsylvania will actually debate, and question the wisdom of proceeding sans Bill of Rights, Delaware's internal issues and her external debates with the other States, have put her in a unique position. Of the thirty delegates who will be elected to her Convention, all thirty will favor ratification, even those men from Sussex County, which polls show is adamantly against ratification.  For years, Delaware had led the fight for equal representation. Both in the Congress under the Articles of Confederation, and in the new Senate. And it is at Delaware's insistence and with her support that the proposed Constitution offers that equal representation in the new Senate.  Internally, Delaware is racked by violence and constant bickering between the Whigs and the Tories, but unlike her neighbor, Pennsylvania, both of Delaware's political movements want the Constitution ratified. It's more an argument of who will get credit for it than it is whether or not they should ratify the Constitution.  As Pennsylvania hesitates, Delaware ratifies the Constitution and become "The First State" of the new Federal Republic.

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