University of Wisconsin Center for the Study of the American Constitution, Pennsylvania Ratifies the Constitution,12 December 1787

The debate over the ratification of the U.S. Constitution in Pennsylvania was a direct continuation of the debate over Pennsylvania’s state constitution that began in 1776.  On one side of the debate were the Constitutionalists, who, with few exeptions, would become Antifederalists, and on the other were the Republicans, who would become the Federalists. In 1787, the Constitutionalists were concentrated in the counties of Berks, Cumberland, Franklin, Dauphin, Westmoreland, Fayette, Bedford, and Washington, although the party also had some support in other counties.  Republicans controlled the more heavily populated counties of Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Montgomery, Lancaster, and York. After a heated public debate, the Pennsylvania Convention ratified the Constitution on December 12, 1787, but Antifederalists continued to campaign for amendments.