ABSTRACT
The anti-federalists had started the convention with enough votes to reject the Constitution, but by late January, the federalists believed they could win if they could bring around John Hancock. Most of the power of the new federal government would come at the expense of state power. Asking the legislatures to ratify would be asking them to diminish their own power. Pro-ratification forces in the Pennsylvania Assembly knew they had enough votes to call for a ratifying convention. New York had seemed one of the surest states to reject ratification. Although New York City was strong for the Constitution, the rest of the state was so strongly opposed that the anti-federalists started the convention with a 46–19 advantage. The anti leaders, in coordination with the anti-federalists in Virginia, planned to ratify conditionally, calling for amendments first, as Patrick Henry advocated.
