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The Struggle for Ratification: New York’s Role in Shaping the U.S. Constitution
November 8, 2023 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm EST
New York's ratification of the Constitution was celebrated with a parade through lower Manhattan, in July 1788. A float called the "Federal Ship Hamilton" honored the local hero. New York Public Library (1877) Webinar • Free and Open to the Public
By 1787, six states had already ratified the U.S. Constitution — but New York had not. New York’s Constitutional Convention was divided between the Anti-Federalists advocating for states’ rights, and the Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, fighting for a strong federal government. How did the Federalists become successful in swaying their counterparts to ratify the U.S. Constitution? Join us to find out.
The Society will bring together some of the nation’s finest scholars to dive into this question, the debates on the convention’s floor, and New York’s role in the development of the Bill of Rights.
PRESENTERS
Moderator: Hon. Albert M. Rosenblatt, Retired Associate Judge, New York Court of Appeals and President Emeritus & Inaugural Albert M. Rosenblatt Legal History Scholar, Historical Society of the New York Courts
Prof. John P. Kaminski, Co-Editor and Director, Center for the Study of the American Constitution, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Prof. Michael J. Klarman, Charles Warren Professor of American Legal History, Harvard University Law School
Dr. Richard Leffler, Co-Editor and Deputy Director Emeritus, Center for the Study of the American Constitution, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Prof. Jack Rakove, COE Professor of History & American Studies and Professor of Political Science, Emeritus, Stanford University