Document 4: Excerpts from “The Address and reasons of dissent of the minority of the convention, of the state of Pennsylvania, to their constituents” Philadelphia, December 12, 1787

Pennsylvania was the second state to ratify the Constitution on December 12, 1787. Twenty-one of the delegates who voted against ratification penned the following document.

1. Why did the authors write this document?

2. The first paragraph reveals a fear that Congress would abuse its power of taxation using what justification?

3. What fear is discussed in the second paragraph of this excerpt?