The New Jersey of the South or Virginia’s Partner: Foreign Affairs and the Ratification of the Constitution in North Carolina

Abstract: Foreign affairs in the North Carolina ratification debates reveals a conflict between two states. The Antifederalists saw North Carolina's interests as those of a southern staple exporter with western holdings, similar to Virginia. The Federalists saw North Carolina as a small state, lacking a large port, with shipping sector. They, like New Jersey and Connecticut, favored a stronger central government that would free their trade from the control of larger neighbors. Tennessee switched sides. It initially saw the Constitution as a threat to its access to the Mississippi, but voted to ratify at the second convention, seeing the union, as its only safe option.