The First Great Newspaper Debate: The Constitutional Crisis of 1787-88.

Partisan newspaper writing on the proposed Constitution developed slowly. Publication of George Mason's "Objections" to the Constitution spearheaded the struggle, but newspaper opposition was sporadic and never very extensive. Merchants, bankers, and lawyers exerted economic pressure to limit the opposition, and some opposition papers went bankrupt. Since the ratification effort was to be brief and public, newspapers became a primary arena for the debates. Surveys opinion from various newspapers.