First Edition, in four volumes. Entitled, “The Debates, Resolutions, and Other Proceedings, in Convention, on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution, as Recommended by the General Convention at Philadelphia, on the 17th of September, 1787: with the Yeas and Nays on the Decision of the Main Question,” published between 1827 and 1830, this work was compiled by Jonathan Elliot and remains the best source for materials regarding the national government’s transitional period.

This period took place between the closing of the Constitutional convention in September 1787 and the opening of the First Federal Congress in March 1789. The Continental Congress decided to distribute the proposed constitution to the states and the states were then required to elect delegates to a state convention to decide upon the new constitution.

Volume I contains the Massachusetts and New York debates; Volume II, the Virginia debates; Volume III, North Carolina and Pennsylvania debates; and Volume IV, the debates of the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention. Volume IV also includes the text of the Constitution.

This work is incredibly important for the preservation of American history as it highlights the inner working of the legal system in the early years of country’s existence.