Behind the Constitution is the product of two Holy Cross students who spent a summer researching the ratification debates, state constitutions, and letters between participants. Here they have attempted to post some of the connections and big ideas they discovered, to hopefully allow others to use it as a starting point for their own research.

Under the guidance of their two faculty advisors, Professors Dustin Gish and Daniel Klinghard, Joanna and Samantha read through the state ratification debates in New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. They discovered numerous connections and common arguments taking place in each state, as well as important links between individual state constitutions and the eventual Federal Constitution.