LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commemorating the 225th Anniversary of New York
State's ratification of the United States Constitution

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to commend the efforts
of those who seek to bring full recognition of the history of this great
Empire State, and in doing so, help to ensure that the complete history
of our State and Nation is preserved and shared with the present gener-
ations of citizens; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to commem-
orate the 225th Anniversary of New York State's ratification of the
United States Constitution; and
WHEREAS, On July 26, 1788, New York State ratified the United States
Constitution in the Dutchess County Courthouse in Poughkeepsie; this is
depicted on the north wall of the Poughkeepsie Post Office, a National
Historic Landmark; and
WHEREAS, The summer of 1788 found the third Dutchess County Courthouse
in the hamlet of Poughkeepsie as the setting for one of the most dramat-
ic ideological struggles in state and national political history; and
WHEREAS, From June 17 to July 26, 1788, the New York Ratification
Convention met to debate New York State's entry into the new republic
proposed under the constitution drawn in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the
previous year; proponents of ratification led by John Jay and Alexander
Hamilton were in the minority; and
WHEREAS, Anti-federalists, led by Governor George Clinton, comprised
the majority of delegates; they opposed ratification based upon the
absence of provisions that would guarantee personal freedoms and clarify
states' rights; and
WHEREAS, In a close vote of 30 to 27, the convention voted to ratify
in "full confidence" that its concerns would be dealt with promptly, and
the result was a stronger Nation, along with the Bill of Rights; and
WHEREAS, Failure to ratify could have brought down the fledgling
nation; the ratification process took six weeks of protracted and diffi-
cult debate when the followers of Clinton and those of Hamilton were
brought to a compromise through the diplomacy of Dutchess County dele-
gate Melancton Smith; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 225th Anniversary of New York State's ratification of
the United States Constitution.