Existing comment:
Illustration of the "eleventh pillar" in the Massachusetts Centinel
August 2, 1788
At New York's ratifying convention in Poughkeepsie, there were 46 anti-Federalist delegates and 19 Federalists, an uphill battle for ratification. Hamilton, Chancellor Robert R. Livingston, and John Jay were the primary Federalist delegates. Hamilton and Livingston were consummate orators, but it was Jay, the most modest and moderate of the three, who may have persuaded the most anti-Federalists to ratify.
By the time New York voted, ten other states had ratified the Constitution, and so it was guaranteed to go into effect. The question became whether New York would be a part of the Union or go it alone. Many of the delegates who had initially opposed ratification now saw it as inevitable, and on July 26, 1788, New York voted 30-27 to join the new United States. The Massachusetts Centinel here celebrates the addition of the Union's "eleventh pillar." |