DEBATES, RESOLUTIONS AND OTHER PROCEEDINGS, OF THE CONVENTION OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, CONVENED AT BOSTON, ON THE 9th OF JANUARY 1788, AND CONTINUED UNTIL THE 7th OF FEBRUARY FOLLOWING, FOR THE PURPOSE OF ASSENTING TO AND RATIFYING THE CONSTITUTION RECOMMENDED BY THE GRAND FEDERAL CONVENTION. TOGETHER WITH THE YEAS AND NAYS ON THE DECISION OF THE GRAND QUESTION. TO WHICH THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION IS PREFIXED

Boston: Printed and sold by Adams and Nourse, Benjamin Russell...and Edmund Freeman..., 1788.. 219pp. 19th-century three-quarter morocco and cloth, gilt. Extremities lightly worn. Titlepage moderately foxed, otherwise light foxing and toning. A good, solid copy. "These DEBATES were recorded by printers representing the MASSACHUSETTS CENTINEL and INDEPENDENT CHRONICLE in Boston and were reprinted from them. A later edition (1856) included the official journal and notes on the debates kept by Theophilus Parsons, a delegate to the state convention and later chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court.

"The ratification process in Massachusetts was viewed with anxiety by supporters of the Constitution throughout the nation. Massachusetts was a key state, and it was thought that actions there might determine the ultimate fate of the Constitution. The struggle was hard, bitter, and characterized by wild rumor and allegations of corrupt behavior....The Federalist strategy was to ratify the Constitution first and then consider amendments to it....On February 6 the Constitution was endorsed by the narrow vote of 187 to 168. Massachusetts became the sixth state to ratify....Massachusetts was the first state to propose amendments along with ratification, setting a pattern for the states that followed. All except Maryland and Rhode Island were to ratify and simultaneously propose amendments" - LIBERTY'S LEGACY. The debates of other states were also extensively published. That of Virginia, where many of the leaders of the Revolution were delegates, appeared in two volumes in 1788. LIBERTY'S LEGACY USC-25. EVANS 21242. SABIN 45702. REESE, FEDERAL HUNDRED 21. (Inventory #: WRCAM46881)