Ratification of The Constitution■ Ratify- to approve■ Federalists vs. Antifederalists■ Antifederalists- were against the Constitution
because they thought it gave too much power to the Federal Government, and not enough to the people and states.
■ Federalists- supported the Constitution, as they felt is what a far superior system of government.
The Struggle for Ratification■ There was not overwhelming support for the
ratification immediately. There were two main groups that were in opposition.
■ The Federalists were supporters of the new Constitution, while the Antifederalists were strongly against it.
Federalists
■ Key Leaders-John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton. Developers of the Federalist Papers
■ They knew that a stronger Federal government was going to make the country stronger.
■ Their job was to convince the people that the system of shared powers (Federalism) was beneficial to the nation
Antifederalists
■ Those who were opposed or against the Constitution.
■ Key Leaders- George Mason and Patrick Henry.■ They felt that the Constitution was taking too much
power from the states and that there were no rights guaranteed for the people.
■ This oppositional group would be key in getting the Bill of Rights.
Federalist Papers
■ A series of essays that were written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay.
■ These essays were a response to counter the Antifederalist attacks on the Constitution.
■ The articles explained the reasons why they should support the Constitution. It spelled out in detail how Federalism works and how the Constitution would function.
Battle for RatificationArticle 7 Page 265■ Many Antifederalists said they would not support
the Constitution until a bill of rights was added for the people.
■ The first 4 states to ratify the document occurred in December of 1787.
■ It would not be official until at least 9 states ratified it which occurred in June of 1788.
■ Rhode Island was the last to ratify it in 1790.