The Documentary History Of The Ratification Of The Constitution ― Ratification Of The Constitution By The States, New York, Number 3

The New York volumes feature countless newspaper items and letters along with New York Ratification chronologies, lists of office holders, and extensive editors' notes. In 1787, after the Constitution was published, Antifederalists published a series of essays in New York newspapers, aggressively criticizing the document. Federalists quickly responded with their own series of essays, including the greatest defense and explanation of the Constitution, The Federalist, written by "Publius" (Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison). The debate had national implications as New York newspapers quickly became the main source of Federalist and Antifederalist propaganda.

John P. Kaminski, Gaspare J. Saladino, and Richard Leffler have been editing The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution series since 1970. Charles H. Schoenleber joined the staff in 1987.

“Such documents give us a glimpse of America in 1787–88, of its people in their homes, taverns, and streets, their convictions, rituals, and customs. The DHRC captures that moment in all its complexity and powerfully demonstrates how the great documentary editions being published today can, by extending our command of the historical record, transform our knowledge and understanding of the past. It might well be, as the historian Leonard Levy once said, the most important documentary record being published today. Certainly it is the only one dedicated to uncovering the democratic component of the American founding. It is also a monumental scholarly achievement and a gift to all Americans, now and in the future, who want to know how our nation came into being.” (Pauline Maier, historian and author of Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788)