Name
Class
CHAPTER
5
S
ECTION
READING CHECK
Who wrote the essays in
The Federalist?
VOCABULARY BUILDER
What does the word convened
mean in the underlined sentence? Look for context clues in
the surrounding words, phrases,
and sentences.
READING SKILL
Identify Main Ideas How did the
ratified Constitution reflect the
views of both Federalists and
Antifederalists?
3
Date
Section Summary
RATIFYING THE CONSTITUTION
The delegates to the Constitutional Convention drafted a new constitution. After being signed, the proposed Constitution was printed,
circulated, and hotly debated. The delegates ruled that nine states
had to ratify the new Constitution in specially elected conventions.
Two groups emerged in the debate: the Federalists, who supported
ratification, and the Antifederalists, who opposed it.
The Federalists argued that a strong central government could
overcome the difficulties facing the new nation. The checks and balances in the proposed Constitution would prevent any of the three
branches from gaining too much power. The Antifederalists disliked the lack of a bill of rights. They believed that liberty could not
survive unless the federal government was weak.
The proposed Constitution lacked majority support in 1787. However, the Constitution had the support of George Washington and
Benjamin Franklin, two of the most trusted men in America. The case
for ratification of the Constitution was set forth in The Federalist, a
series of 85 essays written by Madison, Hamilton, and John Jay. These
essays were published in New York newspapers in 1787 and 1788.
The Federalists pushed for ratifying conventions in five states
and won ratification in all of them. The promise of a bill of rights
helped the Federalists to win most of the remaining states. The resistance of the Antifederalists obliged the Federalists to make the
concession to add the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the
Constitution that provide basic rights. In 1789, the new Congress
convened in New York City.
The writers of the Constitution created an indirect democracy in
which voters elect representatives to govern. Similarly, an electoral
college, or group of persons chosen from each state, indirectly elects
the President. The Constitution established a representative government based on these basic principles: popular sovereignty, limited
government, separation of powers, federalism, and checks and
balances. The Constitution has survived, in part, because it provides a
process for its own amendment.
Review Questions
1. Why did the Federalists want the new Constitution to be ratified?
2. Why were the Antifederalists opposed to the ratification of the
new Constitution?
© Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Prentice Hall. All rights reserved.
42