Download Ratification of the Constitution

Ratification of the Constitution
Federalists vs. Antifederalists
Aka liberals vs. conservatives
Sound familiar?
Question: Why was the new Constitution controversial?
Answer:
• The delegates at the convention did
not have the power to make a new
constitution. “Extra-legal act”
• The new congress (legislature) had
too much power (could make any
law “necessary or proper”).
• The president had too much
power(too wide and not specific)
• People were afraid of this new
government’s power – it reminded
people of the British government!
Many people (conservatives)
could not get what the king
and parliament had done out
of their minds. To them this
government was like nuclear
government power!
Question: What was the side for the constitution?
Answer:
• The Federalists were
for the Constitution.
• George Washington,
John Adams, James
Madison, John Jay,
and Alexander
Hamilton were
influential Federalists.
Question: What was their argument?
Answer:
• They believed that the Articles were
too weak.
• The Articles gave states too much
power which stopped the
government from being able to do
anything.
• The Constitution gave the
government the power that it
needed.
• These people were known as radical
(or liberal) because they wanted the
national government to have the
power it needed to act.
To a Federalist – accepting the
new government was a nobrainer!
Question: How did they convince people?
Answer:
• They had to convince 9 of
the 13 states to ratify
(accept) the Constitution.
• They used essays in
newspapers today known as
the Federalist Papers to
convince people that the
Constitution was needed
and should be ratified.
Hamilton, Madison, and Jay
wrote the Federalist papers.
They were another form of
propaganda (a way to
convince people)!
Question: What was the side against the Constitution?
Answer:
• The Anti-Federalists were
against the ratification of the
Constitution.
• Thomas Jefferson, George
Mason, and Patrick Henry
were three very outspoken
opponents of the new
constitution.
Question: What was their argument?
Answer:
• They believed the new government would be too
strong and the states were too weak.
• They believed that the new government would
become like the British government had been.
• The president was too powerful and the
government could make too many laws that the
people and the states had no protection from.
• These people were known as conservative because
they wanted the government not to have too much
power. They thought the power should go to the
states and the people.
Question: How did they convince people?
Answer:
• Anti-Federalists fought
the ratification with
essays of their own
• Made passionate
speeches about rights
and freedom in state
legislatures where the
voting would have to
occur.
Patrick Henry, George Mason, and
Richard Henry Lee helped contribute
to the less famous and less
successful “Anti-Federalist Papers”.
Question: What solved the argument between the two
sides?
Answer:
• The Federalists agreed to include
a Bill of Rights after the states had
ratified the Constitution.
• This caused Virginia and New York
to finally give in and ratify the
new constitution.
Question: Why?
Answer:
• The Bill of Rights (the first ten
amendments to the
Constitution) gave the states
and individuals the protection
that they needed from
government power. This made
the conservatives happy for
now.
• Problems = things in the body
of the constitution went
against the Bill of Rights: 10th
amendment vs. the elastic
clause.
“The powers not delegated to the
United States by the Constitution,
nor prohibited by it to the States,
are reserved to the States
respectively, or to the people.” 10th
Amendment of the United States
Constitution.
VS.
“The Congress shall have Power To make all Laws which shall be
necessary and proper for carrying
into Execution the foregoing
powers, and all other Powers
vested by this Constitution in the
Government of the United States,
or in any Department or Officer
thereof.” Article 1 section 8 clause
18 of the United States
Constitution
Complete the Comparison Chart
• On the back of 5L complete the chart.
• Use your notes, your notebook, and your
memory to complete the chart.
• Come up with as many arguments as you can
for each side.
• Remember what you have learned and the
importance of POWER!