Democratic Anti-Federalism: Rights, Democracy, and the Minority in the Pennsylvania Ratifying Convention

Abstract

The debate over the ratification of the Constitution began in Pennsylvania essentially at the moment the Philadelphia convention adjourned in September 1787. Within a few weeks, the newspapers in the state were filled with often acrimonious arguments for and against ratification, replete with biting satire, dire predictions, and creative name-calling. Among those who opposed the Constitution, none spoke with a louder voice than that of Centinel, a Philadelphia writer who published more essays against the Constitution than any other. Samuel Bryan, the author behind the pseudonym Centinel, was a radical democrat even by the standards of majoritarian Pennsylvania.

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