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An Economic Interpretation of Rhode Island’s 1788 Referendum on the Constitution

In: Public Choice Analyses of American Economic History

Author

Listed:
  • Ruth Wallis Herndon

    (Bowling Green State University)

  • John E. Murray

    (Rhodes College)

Abstract

In their 1788 popular referendum, Rhode Island voters overwhelmingly rejected ratification of the Federal Constitution: 92% against and 8% for adoption. The town-by-town voter lists, correlated with tax and estate records, show that “yea” voters were significantly wealthier than “nay” voters. Available data also indicates that yea wealth was concentrated in personal estate rather than real estate. Both these findings support Charles Beard’s original economic interpretation of the Constitution. Our detailed data provides new evidence about town-level voters, supplementing the usual data Beard’s supporters and critics have used from state ratifying conventions and the Philadelphia constitutional convention. We trace the outlines of the scholarly debate, provide political and economic context for the Rhode Island referendum, report on our initial findings, and suggest further avenues of research and analysis.

Suggested Citation

  • Ruth Wallis Herndon & John E. Murray, 2019. "An Economic Interpretation of Rhode Island’s 1788 Referendum on the Constitution," Studies in Public Choice, in: Joshua Hall & Marcus Witcher (ed.), Public Choice Analyses of American Economic History, chapter 0, pages 117-135, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:stpchp:978-3-030-11313-1_8
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-11313-1_8
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