=The Final Step.=—But by signing their names to this document the members of the convention did not make it the law of the land. Before the constitution could go into force it must be submitted to the states and adopted by them. And there was grave danger that several of the states would reject it. Public sentiment seemed to be about evenly divided; the small farmers were largely opposed to accepting the new government, while the people of the towns and the large property-owners were in favor of it. [Sidenote: The Federalist.] Some of those who had been leaders in the convention, notably Hamilton and Madison, organized a campaign to influence public opinion in favor of the new constitution, in the course of which they wrote numerous letters to the newspapers explaining and defending the various provisions. These letters were subsequently compiled into book form and published under the title of _The Federalist_. Even today they form an admirable exposition of what the various provisions of the constitution express and imply. In the end the campaign for ratification was successful and notwithstanding strong opposition in some of the states all were finally induced to accept the constitution. This being accomplished the Congress of the Confederation dissolved and in 1789 the new federal government came into office with New York City as the temporary capital.[108] [Sidenote: A notable document.] =The Constitution as a Whole.=—The constitution of the United States as framed by the convention is a relatively short document. It is printed in the back of this book and can be read in about twenty minutes. It is the oldest and the shortest among republican constitutions in the great countries of the world. Napoleon Bonaparte once said that a good constitution should be “short and obscure”, short, so that people would not have to waste time in reading it, and obscure so that rulers could interpret it in any way they chose. The constitution of the United States fulfils the first of Napoleon’s requirements but not the second. It is a remarkably clear document, well-arranged, saying in a few words exactly what it means, and couched in admirable English. Let anyone read the first six lines of it, for example, and see if he can put the purposes of a free government into fewer and more telling words. It is the supreme law of the land, the last word on all questions of American government. No one can claim to know how the affairs of the United States are administered without mastering, at least in a general way, the contents of the constitution. [Sidenote: Factors in the development of the constitution:]