Reflections on the anniversary of the first ratification convention’s conclusion… On December 7, 1787, at Elizabeth Battel's Golden Fleece Tavern in Dover, Delaware, the state of Delaware became the first state to ratify the new Constitution of the United States, and did so by a unanimous vote of thirty to zero. With such an auspicious beginning, we might think that national ratification would be a foregone conclusion, but ... no such luck. As easy a decision as it was for some states, it was a very difficult one for others. We think there are huge differences between the states today...