Before the famous Constitution became published on September 17, 1787, there was a huge democracy over it since some people supported it (federalists), while others opposed it (anti-federalists). Basically the main arguments used by the Anti-Federalists in the discussion of the U.S. Constitution was the fact that the Constitution offered too much power to the federal government and that the rights of the people were not promised through a Bill of Rights.
In order to get their words out, they had ratified convections for the thirteen states. They choose to go to Pennsylvania first because of its size, influence, and wealth.
By January 9, 1788, five states of the nine necessary for ratification had approved the Constitution which included Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut. Eventually, New Hampshire ratified also.
…show more content…
However, the call for a Bill of Rights had been the anti-Federalists' most powerful weapon. Attacking the future Constitution, Patrick Henry asked the Virginia convention, "What can avail your specious, imaginary balances, your rope-dancing, chain-rattling, ridiculous ideal checks and contrivances." The anti-Federalists, demanding a briefer, clear Constitution, one that laid out for all to see the right of the people and limitations of the power of government.
But, the efforts of the Anti-Federalists were not enough to stop the ratification of the Constitution of the United States, but they managed to push for the creation of the Bill of Rights, which promised protection for the rights of all
Among these 5five states were New Hampshire, Massachusetts Virginia, and New York. After the verbose verbal “blood bath,” ten of the amendments were immediately ratified and later became known as the Bill of
December 7, 1787, by a unanimous vote, Delaware became the first state to ratify the Constitution of the United States of America. However, not every state was as eager to approve the Constitution; in fact, there were many conflicts leading to hesitation. The major conflicts were disagreements between federalists and anti federalists, state representation, and slavery. To overview, the federalists were those in favor of the Constitution and the anti federalists opposed the constitution. Some of the most noteworthy anti federalists included Samuel Adams, George Mason, James Monroe, and Patrick Henry.
On the other hand, Cornell explains that this “will of the people” was often contorted on both sides as political debate. Thus, the “dissenting tradition” was not more than who was more qualified to run the government through countless debates and public appeal. As explained by Cornell,”Each side expended enormous energy crafting appeals to persuade citizens that it was better qualified to represent the will of the people” (Cornell 21). Thus, the Anti-Federalists were using the people to debate themselves in the public sphere to gain the will of the common man and avoid the evil corrupt centralized authority.
In May 25, 1787, a convention was called in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to express the purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation. However, the intention from many delegates was to draft a new constitution; create a new government rather than fix the existing one. Rhode Island was the only one of the 13 original states to refuse to send delegates to the Constitutional Convention. At the Convention, the first issues they had to address was the representation in Congress.
Lectures Lecture 14 “Questions to Consider #1”: Why did the Anti Federalists object so strongly to the Preamble to the Constitution? The Anti-Federalists objected so strongly to Preamble to the Constitution due to the fact the Preamble establishes powers for the three branches of government, states’ relations, mode of amendment, debts, national supremacy, oath of office, and amendment ratification. This group felts as though when the federalists wanting to create a strong central government would not be strong enough if the Preamble was not put into place. Lecture 14 states, “Anti-federalists suspicious of central power fought the new Constitution tenaciously…..
To replace the problematic Articles of Confederation, Washington, Hamilton, Jay, Franklin, and others organized the 1787 Philadelphia Convention and started to compose a new law of the country, the United States Constitution. However, it wasn’t easy to make every state come into an agreement on things written in the Constitution, since all the state wanted to make sure they were equally and fairly treated. As a result, several major compromises in the ratified version of the Constitution, including the Great Compromise, Three-Fifths Compromise, Slave Trade Compromise and the compromise on the Bill of Rights. The Great Compromise is the a compromise about state representatives, and it was made between large states and small states.
After the Declaration of Independence in 1787, the Federal Government turned to the creation of the Constitution in which delegates from 13 states convened to make compromises on their beliefs for the betterment of a nation. Although the Bill of Rights was initially not a part of the Constitution, the Federalists thought that it was crucial to ensure ratification of the Constitution. This ratification was one of the main reasons why the Bill of Rights needed to be added. Federalists feared a strong, central government, and created a Bill of Rights in order to prevent government abuse. Others believed that a dominating Government could prohibit rights in the future, which would not necessarily be expressed in the Bill of Rights.
The Constitution of the United States was written in 1787, but there was a grapple for its ratification that went on until about two decades after the ratification. Members of Congress believed that the first government of the United States or the Articles of Confederation, needed to be adjusted while others did not want anything to change. After the Revolutionary War, the people did not want a strong central government, because it reminded them too much of what they were trying to escape from. Under the Articles, each state had their own laws, and the need for a new Constitution was desired by many. The Constitution of 1787 created huge debates, arguments and splits in the nation that lasted for several year after its ratification between people who
“The Federalist,” written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison under the surname ‘Publius,’ attempts to convince the American people that a republican government would be beneficial to both the people and the United States as a whole. Since ‘Publius’ is, in actuality, three different people, one would expect to find some discrepancies between authors. However, in analyzing “The Federalist,” Madison and Hamilton present a unified front – in order to control the effects of factions, they agree that a government should be able to protect its constituents from their misguided passions, that virtual representation is necessary, and that checks and balances among the divided powers of the government are vital. Factions are a source
The Federalists wanted a strong central government. The Anti- Federalists claims Constitution gives the central government too much power and, and they worried about the new constitution will not give them any rights. That the new system threatened freedom; Also, threatened the sovereignty of the states and personal liberties; failed to protect individual rights. Besides, some of famous peoples such as " Patrick Henry" and artists have came out against the Constitution. Although the anti-Federalists were unsuccessful in stopping the passage of the Constitution, their efforts have been responsible for the creation and implementation of the Bill of
The Constitution of the United States of America, the final Constitution, was finally finished and signed in 1787. But even before the document could be used, at least nine states had to accept it. Federalists, supporters of the Constitution, had to teach everyone about the document. Antifederalists, who were against the Constitution, believed that without a Bill of Rights, it would be dangerous. Consequently, the Federalists added a Bill of Rights to the Constitution.
Around the time of the publication of the Federalist Papers in 1787, the Constitution was just created. The first meeting of the Constitutional Convention took place on May 25 1787. Every state (with the exception of Rhode Island) drafted the Constitution from the revision of the Articles of Confederation. All delegates, except three, then signed it. The Constitution was published in the Pennsylvania Packet and eventually proposed by Congress.
Federalist vs. Anti-Federalist During the building of America’s government identity in the 1780s, the colonies were politically divided between two parties; the federalists and the anti-federalists. Typically the lower class, anti-federalists generally pushed for stronger state power. However, the wealthy and propertied class, the federalists, pushed for gains through a stronger national unity. The opposing groups worked hand-in-hand in creating the structural framework of the United States of America.
After signing the Declaration of Independence in 1776, The 13 former colonies were undergoing an identity crisis. It was one thing to declare independence, but it was another to realize what you were now that you declared it. The Constitution was eventually written, at an attempt to create a more perfect union between the states. One of the amazing things about the Constitutional Convention was that the people knew most governments would result in either chance or war. They knew that what they were doing was sitting in a room and rationally trying to create a good government.
The ratification of the constitution occurred between 1787-1789. Just prior to this, the colonists had defeated the French and Indians in the Seven Years War (a.k.a. French and Indian War), and immediately following the victory the British ended their salutary neglect towards the colonies and began to tax the the colonists in order to pay for the war. These events sparked a chain reaction that saw the colonists declare independence and defeat the British in the Revolution. This brings us to the constitutional convention whose task was to design a government for the people, by the people.