Volume XX is the second of five volumes in this set, which covers New York State's public and private debates about the Constitution and the calling of the state ratifying convention. The volumes feature countless newspaper items and letters along with New York Ratification chronologies, lists of office holders, and extensive editors' notes.

In 1787, after the Constitution was published, Antifederalists published a series of essays in New York newspapers, aggressively criticizing the document. Federalists quickly responded with their own series of essays, including the greatest defense and explanation of the Constitution, The Federalist, written by "Publius" (Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison). The debate had national implications as New York newspapers quickly became the main source of Federalist and Antifederalist propaganda.