Download During the debate over the ratification of the Constitution

Do Now!
Ratification: Official approval
Popular Sovereignty: A system in which
government power comes from the people
Bill of Rights: the first ten amendments to the
Constitution
EQ: How did the Constitution get
ratified?
The students will be able to evaluate the
ratification of the Constitution.
Ch 5 Sec 3: Ratifying the Constitution
• The delegates to the Constitutional
Convention drafted a new constitution. After
being signed, the proposed Constitution was
printed, circulated, and hotly debated. The
delegates ruled that nine states had to ratify
the new Constitution in specially elected
conventions. Two groups emerged in the
debate: the Federalists, who supported
ratification, and the Antifederalists, who
opposed it.
• The Federalists argued that a strong central
government could overcome the difficulties
facing the new nation. The checks and
balances in the proposed Constitution would
prevent any of the three branches from
gaining too much power.
Federalist = Freakin’ Strong
Central Government
• The Antifederalists disliked the lack of a bill of
rights. They believed that liberty could not
survive unless the federal government was
weak. Antifederalists believed that the
Constitution concentrated too much power in
the hands of a few.
Anti-Federalists = WEAK
central government
• The proposed Constitution lacked majority
support in 1787. However, the Constitution
had the support of George Washington and
Benjamin Franklin, two of the most trusted
men in America. The case for ratification of
the Constitution was set forth in The
Federalist, a series of the 85 essays written
by Madison, Hamilton, and John Jay. These
essays were published in New York
newspapers in 1787 and 1788.
• The federalists pushed for ratifying
conventions in five states and won ratification
in all of them. The promise of a bill of rights
helped the Federalists to win most of the
remaining states. The resistance of the
Antifederalists obliged the Federalists to make
the concession to add the Bill of Rights, the
first ten amendments to the Constitution that
provide basic rights. In 1789, the new
Congress convened in New York City.
• The writers of the Constitution created an
indirect democracy (a Republic) in which
voters elect representatives to govern.
Similarly, an electoral college, or group of
persons chosen from each state, indirectly
elects the President.
• The Constitution established a
representative government based on these
basic principles: popular sovereignty, limited
government (the rule of law), separation of
powers, federalism, and checks and balances
(a system in which different branches of
government limit one another’s power.) The
Constitution has survived, in part, because it
provides a process for its own amendment. It
can always change.
EXIT SLIP
During the debate over the ratification of the
Constitution, Antifederalists argued that
A)
the new Constitution left too much political
power to state governments
B)
a strong national government would gain
respect from European nations
C)
checks and balances were unnecessary in a
federal government
D) the new Constitution would threaten the
rights of individual citizens
EXIT SLIP
During the debate over the ratification of the
Constitution, Antifederalists argued that
A)
the new Constitution left too much political
power to state governments
B)
a strong national government would gain
respect from European nations
C)
checks and balances were unnecessary in a
federal government
D) the new Constitution would threaten the
rights of individual citizens
EXIT SLIP
The adoption of the Bill of Rights (1791) addressed
Antifederalist criticism of the new Constitution by
A)
providing for an indirect method of
electing the president
B)
protecting citizens from abuses of power by
the national government
C)
allowing the national government to coin
money
D) establishing a process for impeaching federal
officials
EXIT SLIP
The adoption of the Bill of Rights (1791) addressed
Antifederalist criticism of the new Constitution by
A)
providing for an indirect method of
electing the president
B)
protecting citizens from abuses of power by
the national government
C)
allowing the national government to coin
money
D) establishing a process for impeaching federal
officials