Chapter 5: Section 4

Chapter 5: Section 4

Ratifying the Constitution

Main Ideas:

• Federalists and Anti federalists engaged in debate over the new Constitution.

• The Federalist Papers played an important role in the fight for ratification of the Constitution.

• Ten amendments were added to the Constitution to provide a Bill of Rights to protect citizens.

• Americans carried on a vigorous debate before ratifying the Constitution.

Federalists and Anti federalists

• Antifederalists: people who opposed the Constitution.

• George Mason - Antifederatlist for the reason that the Constitution did not provide a section that guaranteed individual rights.

Federalist and Antifederalists

• Many antifederalists were small farmers and debtors.

• Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry were also antifederalists.

Federalists and Antifederalists

• Federalists: Supporters of the Constitution.

• Federalists: James Madison, George Washington, Ben Franklin and Alexander Hamilton.

Federalists and Anitfederalists

• Federalists believed the Constitution offered a good balance of power between various political views.

• Wealthy planters, farmers and lawyers...

Federalists and Antifederalists

• Mercy Otis Warren wrote a pamphlet entitle Observations on the New Constitution, in which she criticized the lack of individual rights it provided.

Federalist Papers

• Series of essays supporting the Constitution written anonymously under the name Publius.

• Actually written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison.

Federalist Papers

• Tried to reassure Americans that the new federal government would not overpower the states.

• Widely reprinted in newspapers around the country as the debate over the Constitution continued.

• The papers were collected and published in book form in 1788.

Federalist Papers

• The Constitution needed only 9 states to pass it but in order to preserve unity each state needed to ratify it.

• State conventions were held so people could discuss the Constitution.

• December 7, 1787: Delaware became the first state to ratify the Constitution.

Bill of Rights

• Added to the Constitution to protect individual rights.

• It was written to protect the liberty of all U.S. citizens.

• James Madison made the Bill of Rights a priority to the new government.

• The Rights would be amendments (changes) to the Constitution.

• 2/3 majority of both houses of Congress had to ratify changes before the Amendment could take effect.

Bill of Rights

• September 1789: Congress proposed 12 amendments and sent them to the states.

• December 1791: 10 Amendments were ratified and the Bill of Rights passed.

Purpose of the Bill of Rights

• Protect the rights of citizens

• Set a clear example how to amend the Constitution to fit the needs of a changing nation.