Virginia provided American with much of its intellectual and political leadership throughout the Revolutionary era. That leadership, however, was sorely divided over the fate of the Constitution, and the debate that ensued over it marked the climax of the struggle for ratification. What occurred in Virginia was to loom large in the history of the new nation. This first Virginia volume contains the private and public record of the debate as captured in letters, newspapers, and the debates in the Convention.
This documentary series is a research tool of remarkable power, an unrivaled reference work for historical and legal scholars, librarians, and students of the Constitution. The volumes are encyclopedic, consisting of manuscript and printed documents-contemporary newspapers, broadsides, and pamphlets-compiled from hundreds of sources, copiously annotated, thoroughly indexed, and often accompanied by microfiche supplements.
Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Michael Kammen has noted that The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution series "will be of enduring value centuries hence" and described it as "one of the most interesting documentary publications we have ever had." The American Bar Association Journal has stated, "Each new volume now fills another vital part of the mosaic of national history."