[HandyDandy]

Nathaniel Gorham and Rufus King were the two out of four Massachusetts delegates to the Constitutional Convention who signed the document proposed. Nathaniel Gotham played a large part in in the actual drafting of the US Constitution. He was an early abolitionist. Rufus King had played a large part in writing the Massachusetts State Constitution (which, as I mentioned in an earlier post to you was used by Massachusetts State Supreme Court to abolish slavery outright, in one fell swoop).

Those two then brought the proposed document, which they had signed, back to Massachusetts. Then the State ratification process began. Finally, 355 delegates, after considerable debate, took a vote. Massachusetts narrowly ratified the US Constitution by a vote of 187 yea to 168 nay. The final tally included ten votes that switched to yea only upon a guarantee that the Bill Of Rights would be added immediately upon ratification. Otherwise, Massachusetts would not have ratified the US Constitution, and the fact that Nathaniel Gorham and Rufus King had signed the proposed document would have meant diddly-squat.

I put it to you that Massachusetts, at the very first opportunity that it had to abolish slavery, where it could, emphatically did. I put it to you that your claim, that by ratifying the US Constitution, Massachusetts "voted for slavery", is crack-pottery. As a self-proclaimed psycho-ceramist, I'm sure you'll agree.

[Cvengr]

Why should they favor slavery, when indentured servitude provided them so much more?

[jeffersondem]

“Massachusetts narrowly ratified the US Constitution by a vote of 187 yea to 168 nay.”

Your words confirm what you have denied.

Perhaps you are confused about the difference between the state constitution and the federal constitution.