Search Header Logo
3.4 The Road to Ratification

3.4 The Road to Ratification

Assessment

Presentation

Social Studies

12th Grade

Practice Problem

Medium

Created by

Amy Schneider

Used 3+ times

FREE Resource

16 Slides • 5 Questions

1

media

Unit 3-4

2

Lesson Overview

Students Will Be Able To:

Identify how the ratification process for the Constitution
formed the government by the "people."
Identify the reasons Anti-Federalists objected to the
Constitution.
Explain why factions formed over the ratification of the
Constitution and their views.

Vocabulary

Anti Federalists
Bill of Rights
Federalists
Federalist Papers
Preamble

media
media
media

3

media
media

Essential Question- Why did Federalists and Anti-Federalists disagree during the ratification period of the U.S Constitution?

4

media
media
media

Let's Start At The Beginning...Preamble

The Final Draft of the Constitution was assigned to the Committee of Style
James Madison, Samuel Johnson, Alexander Hamilton, Rufus King and Gouverneur Morris
Gouverneur Morris (I hope he gave his parents grief for the name) created the Preamble

Preamble- introductory paragraph to the Constitution

​Do you know how our Preamble begins?

5

Multiple Choice

Question image

The first line in our Constitution's Preamble is....

1

Our fore fathers fought for this country...

2

Everyone has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness....

3

Friends, countrymen, lend me your ears....

4

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union...

6

media
media
media

The U.S Constitution

Every year Sep. 17th is celebrated as Constitution Day (Actual date of Ratification)

It is organized with a Preamble and 7 Articles

Hint- Think of the Preamble like an introductory paragraph and the Articles like the body paragraphs

media

7

media

8

media

The 7 Articles of the Constitution

The first three Articles established and laid out how the
national government would look:

Article I- Established the Legislative Branch (Senate and House of Representatives)

Article II- Establishes the Executive Branch (President) and the Electoral College

Article III- Establishes the Judicial Branch (The Supreme Court)

Article IV- States must honor laws and court decisions of other states and lists the way to become a state

9

media

Article V- Describes how to Amend (change) the Constitution
Article VI- establishes the Constitution as the supreme law of the land
Article VII- Explains how to ratify the Constitution followed by all the
signatures

This document created the federal government and showed how power would be shared by both the States and National

10

media

So, what is the big deal about all of this? Why is this such an important document?

11

Multiple Choice

Question image

Why is the Constitution a big deal?

1

It establishes the government of the United States of America

2

It declares the United States independent from Great Britain

3

It give states all the power in deciding how to govern themselves

12

Draw

Circle the correct answer: Which parts of the Constitution represent the concept of separation of powers?

13

media
media

Ratifying the Constitution

• The Convention sent the finished document to the states to ratify it (they need 9 out of the 13 States to agree to it)

• Each State had to have a convention with delegates that would vote on the Constitution

• So, the people of each state (those that were allowed to vote) had a say in the process

• However, this is where the problems started, because not everyone was happy with this new document.

Point to Ponder- Why do you think that the Framers wanted to have the people of the states involved in this process?

14

• Only 39 of the 55 delegates signed the Constitution (Most had left
before the signing happened)
• Three delegates refused to sign it at all, they were still in favor of the
Virgina Plan (pictured below)
George Mason, Edmund Randolph and Elbridge Gerry
All of them wanted a Bill of Rights- a list of fundamental rights of the people that the government could not restrict

Ratifying the Constitution Continued...

media

15

media
media
media

The Federalists and Anti-Federalists

Federalists
Supported the ratification of the Constitution
Wanted a strong central
government
Wealthy landowners,
businesspeople and merchants

Antifederalists
Didn't support the ratification
of the Constitution
Feared a strong central
government
Included largely poorer
working-class people, farmers
and people who liked the
Articles of Confederation

media
media

16

media
media
media

Battling It Out In
The Newspapers

Newspapers were the mass media of the day and how to get your message out to the people

Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay were the Federalists spokespeople

Wrote 85 articles that were printed in the papers in support of the Constitution called the Federalist Papers

The articles were largely targeting the people of New York to get them to ratify the Constitution, but it could apply to all people

Called themselves Publius as an alias when writing an article, it means "The People," in Latin

media

17

Multiple Choice

Question image

Why did the Anti-Federalists object to the ratification of the Constitution?

1

They wanted the national government to determine voter qualifications.

2


They believed the Constitution was too similar to the Articles of Confederation.

3

They believed the central government would have too much power.


18

Multiple Choice

Question image

What was the purpose of the Federalist Papers?

1


to convince the states to reject the Constitution

2


to gain support for the ratification of the Constitution in New York

3


to promote the adoption of a Bill of Rights

4

to educate the public on each article of the Constitution

19

media
media

Essential Question- Why did Federalists and Anti-Federalists disagree during the ratification period of the U.S. Constitution?

The Constitutional Convention voted to approve the Constitution and sent it to the states for ratification on September 17, 1787, which today is celebrated as Constitution Day.

Ratification delegates were elected by the people, signifying that “We the People” created the government of the United States, unlike the Articles of Confederation, which were formed by the state legislatures.

Despite the months of work, some delegates of the Constitutional Convention refused to sign the final document because it lacked a Bill of Rights, which would put limits on the powers of the federal government.

20

media

During the ratification debates, factions formed among Federalists, who supported the adoption of the Constitution, and Anti-Federalists, who opposed the document because it lacked a Bill of Rights.

Federalists and Anti-Federalists argued their perspectives in articles published in newspapers. 

James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay wrote 85 essays combined under one pen name to produce the Federalist Papers. Anti-Federalists also printed essays but were not united in one voice like the Federalist Papers

Essential Question Cont..

21

media
media
media
media

Tuesday:
The Factions Make Their Case

Wednesday:
Forming a Constitution Unit Review

Thursday:
Live Classroom

Friday:
Unit 3 Test

media

Unit 3-4

Show answer

Auto Play

Slide 1 / 21

SLIDE