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Discover the intriguing clash between Federalists and Anti-Federalists during the ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1787. Dive into The Federalist Papers, the Bill of Rights, and pivotal amendments while unraveling the historical significance. Explore key figures like George Washington, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton.
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Federalists and Anti-Federalists • When the Constitution was signed in September 1787, not everyone hoped it would be ratified. • A group of men led by George Mason, Sam Adams and Patrick Henry were against ratification of the Constitution because they felt it gave the federal government too much power and didn’t protect individual rights. They did not want it ratified without a Bill of Rights. • This group became known as anti-federalists.
Federalists • Supporters of the Constitution were called Federalists. • James Madison, George Washington, Ben Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay were all Federalists. • Most Federalists believed the Constitution offered a good balance of power. They felt it was a compromise between differing opinions.
The Federalist Papers • In order to gain support for ratification of the Constitution, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay wrote a series of essays entitled The Federalist Papers. • In these essays, they told Americans that the new federal government would not overpower the states (a fear many had). They tried to persuade readers that their rights would be intact under the Constitution.
The Ratification Fight • The Constitution needed 9 states to ratify it in order for it to go into effect. • Each state held special conventions to give citizens the chance to discuss the Constitution. Then they could vote on ratification. • Anti-Federalists attended many state conventions to try to persuade people to not vote for the Constitution, but many Revolutionary war heroes, including Washington, supported ratification.
Delaware was the first state to approve the Constitution in December 1787. 8 others ratified it by the middle of 1788. • Many states agreed to ratification only with the promise that a Bill of Rights would be added. Federalists disagreed with this view. They felt the entire Constitution protected the liberty of all U.S. citizens.
Amendments/Bill of Rights • Although he was a federalist, James Madison knew that the Constitution had only been ratified because of the promise of a Bill of Rights. • He wanted this to be the new government’s top priority and encouraged law makers to put together a list of rights. Then, the rights would be added as amendments, or changes to the Constitution.
In the Constitution, the Founders had provided a way to change the document. They felt it would be necessary to reflect changing times. The process of amending the Constitution is very difficult however. • Proposed amendments must be approved by 2/3 majority of both houses of Congress. Then it must be ratified by ¾ of the states before taking effect.
To create a list of possible amendments, the legislators took ideas from the Declaration of Independence. • They had listed grievances (complaints) in the Declaration that they had against British rule. They wanted to make these complaints illegal in the U.S. • In September 1789, Congress proposed 12 amendments to be sent to the states for ratification. By December, ¾ of the states had approved 10 of the proposed amendments. These 10 are referred to as the Bill of Rights.
The Bill of Rights • The Bill of Rights protects individual rights of U.S. citizens: 1. Protects freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly and petition. 2. The right to bear arms. 3. Citizens will not be subjected to the quartering of soldiers in their homes in times of peace. 4. Search and Seizure-citizens are protected from illegal search and seizure of personal property by the government.
5. Protects the rights of the accused. The government cannot punish anyone for a crime without due process of law. This means that the law should always be fairly applied. The 5th amendment also protects people from being forced to testify in their own criminal trial. To keep from testifying, a defendant can “take the 5th.” Anyone found not guilty in a criminal trial cannot face double jeopardy. In other words, that person cannot be tried again for the same crime.
6. Requirements for a jury trial-all citizens have the right to a trial by jury. 7. The 7th amendment states that juries can decide civil cases. These are cases that involve money or property.
8. Limits on criminal punishment-bail must be offered for all citizens accused of crimes. Bail must be reasonable. The 8th amendment also bans “cruel and unusual punishments” of people accused of crimes. 9. Rights kept by the people-protects individual rights that are not listed specifically in the Constitution. 10. Powers of the states and the people-rights not given to the national or state governments belong to the people.
Other important amendments • The 13th amendment is one of 3 amendments that came about as a result of the Civil War. This amendment makes slavery illegal and was passed in 1865. • The 14th amendment guaranteed rights to African Americans. It states that all persons born or naturalized in the U.S. are citizens of the U.S. • The 15th amendment gave African American men the right to vote.
