Construction of the Massachusetts Constitution.

Analyzes the calling and organization of the 1780 Massachusetts Constitutional Convention. Unlike Pennsylvania, Massachusetts did not undergo a democratic upheaval during this process, and the delegates that met in Cambridge and Boston came largely from the elite. Traces the convention process and deliberations. Only the issue of representation seems to have triggered lengthy debate. John Adams was influential, but the convention debated freely and at length to change his early draft. Based largely on the Adams Papers and the Journal of the Convention; other primary sources; 55 notes.