February 6, 1788
Massachusetts Ratifying Convention
At the conclusion of the Massachusetts Ratifying Convention, John Hancock requested to “close the business with a few words.” He began with an endorsement: the Constitution—amended or not—was destined to deliver political freedom and dignity to the country. This was particularly so given the exhaustive debate that the draft Constitution fostered all of which tended to improve the proposed government.
(more…)Massachusetts Ratifying Convention
January 31, 1788
John Hancock, at the Massachusetts Ratifying Convention, made a motion for the Convention to adopt the Constitution as it was a document that would not only “advance the prosperity of the whole world” but create a form of government that would “extend its good influences to every part of the United States.” But, recognizing that a contingent in the Convention would not support the Constitution without some modifications, Hancock argued that a series of “some general amendments” accompany the approved Constitution so as to “quiet the apprehensions of gentlemen.” Samuel Adams, recognizing that many people in other Conventions had similarly felt that a set of amendments was not only necessary but urgently needed, saw that including amendments would “have the most salutary effect throughout the union.”
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Last Best Hope of Earth