University of Wisconsin Center for the Study of the American Constitution, Massachusetts Towns Vote on the Constitution

Delegates to the Massachusetts ratifying convention, the largest of any state, were split on the question of ratifying the Constitution. On the Federalist side, Shay's Rebellion, an armed uprising of farmers in western Massachusetts who were angry about government tax collection causing poverty and foreclosures, had underscored the failures of the Articles of Confederation and the need for a strong central government. On the Antifederalist side, however, there was concern that a strong central government would concentrate power in the hands of the elites and undermine the principles of the American Revolution. A turning point came when Massachusetts Governor John Hancock, who had not yet taken a public position on the Constitution, spoke to the Massachusetts Convention on January 31, 1788, and recommended that the convention ratify the Constitution, but also recommended that the form of ratification include nine amendments to be considered by the first federal Congress. Following his recommendation and the inclusion to the amendments, the ratification vote passed 187 to 168,