Ratification of new United States constitution and potential split of nation - political science research
Budget: $750 – $1,500 USD
I am looking for articles or books or even blog posts (hopefully from scholars) about the process by which a new constitution for the United States could be ratified, after a constitutional convention. I am not referring to an amendment, which, when approved by a sufficient number of states (3/4), is binding on all the states.
I am referring instead to a repeat of the process that was carried out in 1787-1788, in which each state was given a choice as to whether to approve the new Constitution or to remain under the Articles of Confederation. Eleven states ratified the current constitution by 1788, and it went into effect as among those 11 states. Those 11 states elected a Congress and a President (George Washington) and started up the government in March 1790. North Carolina ratified it 8 months after that, and Rhode Island ratified it 6 months after North Carolina.
What if we did that same process today, and some states refused to ratify the new Constitution? Then we would have two American governments, each with their own President, Congress, and Supreme Court. How would that work? Could the two governments negotiate a federation? Would they? Would they come to some workable relationship, or would it create a bitter struggle for legitimacy?
I'm looking for anyone who has explored these issues and published their thoughts. I'd like brief summaries of what you find, with citations to the sources.
As evidence that constitutional scholars are thinking about this as a live possibility, see the "Constitution Drafting Project" from the National Constitution Center, published in early 2021: https://constitutioncenter.org/debate/special-projects/constitution-drafting-project. Both the Libertarian and the Progressive drafts, in their final articles, contemplate the same process that occurred in 1787-1788.
I am referring instead to a repeat of the process that was carried out in 1787-1788, in which each state was given a choice as to whether to approve the new Constitution or to remain under the Articles of Confederation. Eleven states ratified the current constitution by 1788, and it went into effect as among those 11 states. Those 11 states elected a Congress and a President (George Washington) and started up the government in March 1790. North Carolina ratified it 8 months after that, and Rhode Island ratified it 6 months after North Carolina.
What if we did that same process today, and some states refused to ratify the new Constitution? Then we would have two American governments, each with their own President, Congress, and Supreme Court. How would that work? Could the two governments negotiate a federation? Would they? Would they come to some workable relationship, or would it create a bitter struggle for legitimacy?
I'm looking for anyone who has explored these issues and published their thoughts. I'd like brief summaries of what you find, with citations to the sources.
As evidence that constitutional scholars are thinking about this as a live possibility, see the "Constitution Drafting Project" from the National Constitution Center, published in early 2021: https://constitutioncenter.org/debate/special-projects/constitution-drafting-project. Both the Libertarian and the Progressive drafts, in their final articles, contemplate the same process that occurred in 1787-1788.