The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution and the Adoption of the Bill of Rights

FAIN: RQ-279683-21

University of Wisconsin, Madison (Madison, WI 53715-1218)
John Kaminski (Project Director: November 2020 to present)

Preparation for print publication of volumes 3, 4, and 5 on the ratification of the Bill of Rights and digital publication of supplemental documents. (36 months) 

The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights (DHRC) is one of the premier scholarly editing projects in the United States. Its mandate is to collect and publish the documentary record of the debate over the ratification of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights between 1787 and 1791. Copies of relevant documents have been collected from several thousand libraries, archives, historical societies, town clerk and county offices, and private collections. All books, pamphlets, broadsides, newspapers, and magazines published during this period have been searched. Over 17,000 manuscripts and 48,000 newspaper items have been accessioned. All manuscript collections for the time period are searched. In addition to scholars, DHRC volumes are used by judges, lawyers, and politicians in shaping public law and policy. The volumes have been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. district and appeals courts, and in many law reviews.