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![Alexander Hamilton: in New York. Emotions, however, remained
venomous even after ten states ratified the
Constitution, and Governor Clinton still thought
civil war possible. One member of the French
diplomatic legation, Victor du Pont, wrote to
Samuel du Pont de Nemours that if the
Constitution faltered in New York, outraged
federalists might pounce on Clinton and his
retinue when they returned home and "smear
them with tar, roll them in feathers, and finally
walk them through the streets."111 On July 17,
Hamilton predicted that New York City might
secede from the state if the Constitution was
turned down; Clinton chided him from his chair
for his "highly indiscreet and improper"
warning.112 Working himself up into a grand
state of pathos, Hamilton summoned the ghosts
of "departed patriots" and living heroes and with
his words wrung tears from onlookers.113
Days later, Melancton Smith finally broke the
deadlock when he endorsed the Constitution if
Congress would promise to consider some
amendments. Paying indirect tribute to
Hamilton, Smith credited "the reasonings of
gentlemen" on the other side for his changed
vote.114 On July 26, Smith and a dozen other
antifederalists switched their votes to favor the
Constitution, producing a wafer-thin majority
The final vote of thirty to twenty-seven was the
smallest victory margin at any state convention
and portended future political troubles for
Hamilton. Governor Clinton would not budge
but tolerated followers who changed their votes.
Anticipating New York's approval, a huge rally
had taken place in New York City three days
earlier to express boisterous enthusiasm for the
new government. It started at eight in the
morning in light rain as five thousand
representatives of sixty trades-from wig
makers to bricklayers, florists to
cabinetmakers-marched down Broadway amid
a profusion of brightly colored floats and
banners. The Constitution might be denounced
as a rich man's plot upstate, but the city's
artisans were now stouthearted federalists and
crafted displays to illustrate the benefits that
would flow from union. The bakers hoisted aloft
a ten-foot "federal loaf," brewers pulleda
three-hundred-gallon cask of ale, and coopers
hauled barrels built with thirteen staves. Many
of Hamilton's friends joined the crowd. Robert
Troup marched alongside lawyers and judges,
brandishing the new Constitution. Nicholas
Cruger, his old employer from St. Croix, donned
a farmer's costume and escorted a plow drawn
by six Oxen.
The parade apotheosized the hero of the hour,
the man who had snatched victory from thee
antifederalist majority. So exuberant was the
lionization of Alexander Hamilton that admirers
wanted to rechristen the city "Hamiltoniana." It
was one of the few times in his life that
Hamilton basked in the warmth of public
adulation. Sail makers waved a flag depicting a
laurel-wreathed Hamilton bearing the
Constitution while an allegorical figure
representing Fame blew a trumpet in the air.
This paled before the grandest tribute of all to
Hamilton. Gliding down Broadway, pulled by ten
horses, was a miniature frigate, twenty-seven
feet long, baptized the "Federal Ship Hamilton."
The model ship rose above all other floats "with
flowing sheets and full sails[.]..the canvas
waves dashing against her sides" and
concealing the carriage wheels moving the ship,
noted one observer.115 The cart men fluttered
banners that proclaimed, "Behold the federal
ship of fame /The Hamilton we call her name; /
To every craft she gives employ; / Sure cartmen
have their share of joy."116 When the Hamilton
arrived near the Battery, it was received by
congressmen standing outside Bayard's Tavern.
To represent the transition from the Articles of
Confederation to the Constitution, the ship
changed pilots amid a deafening cannonade.
The parade marked the zenith of the federalist
alliance with city artisans. Hamilton had never
courted the masses, and never again was he to
enjoy their favor to this extent. Riding high on
the crest of the new Constitution, Hamilton and
the federalists held undisputed sway in the city
November #HAMILDROP:
Here is the moment in Chernow’s book—when Hamilton argued for New York to be part of these new United States—and Hamilton being embraced by his adopted city—that we couldn’t fit in the show.
So I called John Kander and we wrote it together. Stay tuned. https://t.co/wdTtcukaEZ](https://pics.awwmemes.com/in-new-york-emotions-however-remained-venomous-even-after-ten-37692079.png)
