A Cunning Plan

On December 12, 1787, the State of Pennsylvania ratified the Constitution of the United States, the second State to do so. The debates that would later erupt in New York and North Carolina were quickly bypassed as the State moved very to deal with the issues at hand. Like almost every State, Pennsylvania would debate the idea of a strong central government versus States rights. The amount of Representation in congress, the role of the Preside dent, and of course, in strongly abolitionist Pennsylvania, slavery would be a point of contention. The biggest issue that Pennsylvania and other States would face, was the demand for a Bill of Rights.

That Pennsylvania ratified so quickly did not imply that there was no opposition. A the end of the day, Pennsylvania had something that the other States did not have – a fellow by the name of Ebenezer, who was a staunch Federalist. And he had a plan to make sure that the Constitution got ratified.

A plan so cunning that you could stick a tail on it and call it a weasel…

And a plan that has a strong personal connection to me…