Those who favored ratification of the Constitution were known as
Federalists, while those who opposed it were considered Anti­
Federalists.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE [ edit ]
Compare the political concerns of the Federalist with that of the Anti­Federalist
KEY POINTS [ edit ]
The fight for ratification was long and difficult, because after escaping Bri tish rule, many were
concerned about creating an overly powerful centalized government that might again
endanger individual rights, and state governments were interested in retaining the powers they had
already established for themselves.
In a series of pamphlets supporting ratification, Federalistsattacked the weaknesses of the Articles of
Confederation. They acknowledged that the Constitution was not perfect, but said that it was much
better than any other proposal then made, establishing a more powerful national government with
substantial "checks & balances" that would prevent abuses of that power.
Anti­Federalists, such as Patrick Henry, however, attacked the Constitution, suggesting that it would
lead to a dangerously powerful national government and cited the lack of a Bill of Rights as a
dangerous omission in the Constitution.
TERMS [ edit ]
anti­federalist
Anti­Federalism refers to a movement that opposed the creation of a stronger U.S. federal
government and which later opposed the ratification of the Constitution of 1787.
ratification
Ratification is a formal declaration of agreement to a treaty or other document. After the
Constitution was drafted at the Philadelphia Convention, the states voted to ratify it.
amendment
An addition to and/or alteration to the Constitution. The Bill of Rights contained the first 10
amendments to the Constitution.
federalist
The term Federalist usually applied to either statesmen and public figures who supported
ratification of the proposed Constitution of the United States between 1787 and 1789, or
statesmen and public figures that supported the administrations of Presidents George
Washington (1789–1797) and John Adams (1797–1801).
Give us feedback on this content: FULL TEXT [ edit ]
On September 17, 1787, the Constitution was completed by the Convention
in Philadelphia. Benjamin Franklin gave a speech shortly after the Constitution had been
completed, urging unanimity among all the states, although the Convention had decided only
nine state ratification conventions were needed to inaugurate the new government. Clearly
the larger states such as Virgina, New York and Massachusetts woukld be especially critical
to this process.
The fight for ratification was long and difficult, largely because special conventions were
required in lieu of hearings within the state legislatures for ratification of the Constitution.
Furthermore, many state governments were interested in retaining their powers and
resistant to ratifying a new, stronger, centralized government.
Those who favored ratification were known as Federalists, while those who opposed it were
considered Anti­Federalists. In a series of pamphlets supporting ratification, Federalists
attacked the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. They acknowledged that the
Constitution was not perfect, but they said that it was much better than any other proposal
then made. These arguments were made most succinctly by three Federalists, Alexander
Hamilton, James Madison, andJohn Jay, in a series of essays popularly referred to as
"TheFederalist Papers. " The essays explored the proposed Constitution, defended its
provisions, and and outlined the ways that its checks & balances would prevent abuses of
power.
The Federalists defended the weakest point of the Constitution (its lack of a bill of individual
rights) by suggesting that current protections were sufficient and that the Congress could
always propose amendments later. Anti­Federalists, such as Patrick Henry, however,
attacked the Constitution and suggested that it would lead to a dangerously powerful
national government and cited the lack of a Bill of Rights as a dangerous omission in the
Constitution.
Each state was to hold a convention to debate the Constitution and ratify or reject it. The
Constitution was proposed in September 1787. By the end of the year, states that were in
favor of the document such as Delaware,Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia and Connecticut,
had quickly ratified it.
The Federalists were already more than halfway to the nine­state margin. However, the
states that did not ratify the Constitution in that year included the extremely important
states of Massachusetts, New York, and Virginia. Massachusetts ratified the document by a
close margin (187­168), Maryland and South Carolina did the same, then New Hampshire
provided the all­important ninth ratification.
The United States was now technically under the jurisdiction of the new Constitution, but the
economically dominant state of New York and the populous state of Virginia, among others,
had still not ratified it. In New York, fully two­thirds of the convention delegates were at first
opposed to the Constitution. Hamilton led the Federalist's campaign, which included the
fast­paced appearance of The Federalist Papers in New York newspapers, and on July 26,
1788, New York ratified with a recommendation that a bill of rights be added. The vote was
close–yeas, 30 and nays, 27– but the Federalists succeded due largely to Hamilton's efforts
to reach a few key compromises with moderate Anti­Federalists.
The process of organizing the government began soon after ratification by Virginia and New
York. On September 13, 1788, Congress fixed the city of New York as the seat of the new
government. It set Wednesday, January 7, 1789, as the day for choosing presidential electors,
Wednesday, February 4 for the meeting of the electors to select a president, and Wednesday,
March 4 for the opening session of the new Congress and the beginning of the first
presidential term. Thus, March 4, 1789 became inauguration day.
George Washington was elected the Constitution's president by a unanimous vote of
presidential electors chosen by each state's legislature, including the vote of Virginia's
elector, the Anti­Federalist Patrick Henry. However, the recently­elected Congress was a
victory for Federalists. The Senate of 11 states included 20 Federalists to two Virginian Anti­
Federalists. The House would seat 48 Federalists to 11 Anti­Federalists from only four states:
Massachusetts, New York, Virginia, and South Carolina.
The Bill of Rights was then created under the new Constitution, leading to North Carolina,
and finally Rhode Island agreed to ratify. By May 1790, all 13 states had ratified the
Constitution.
Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry was a Revolutionary War hero and prominent Anti­Federalist from Virginia.