Part 2
The Constitutional Convention
KEY CONCEPT:
 The Constitution was completed only because the delegates to the Constitutional
Convention were able to reach a number of major compromises.
 Opposition to ratification of the Constitution came from antifederalists, who
feared a strong central government.
 Promise of a bill of rights was important to ratification of the Constitution.
Ch 9
Struggle for Ratification
• Federalists
• Federalist Papers
– Madison, Hamilton, Jay
– purpose
– Federalist paper No. 10
GREAT DEBATE (1787–1789):
The Constitution: Should the United States adopt the new Constitution to
replace the Articles of Confederation?
For: The Federalists
— led by Washington,
Hamilton, Madison,
Jay, and Marshall;
including most
commercial, seacoast,
urban, and upper-class
groups.
Ch. 9
Against: The AntiFederalists
— led by Patrick Henry,
Samuel Adams, Richard
Henry Lee, George
Mason, and George
Clinton; including many
noncommercial,
western, agrarian, and
state-oriented interests.
Issues at the Convention
• ISSUE #1: Need for change. Does the government
of the Articles need to be replaced?
• ISSUE #2: Can a republic govern a large territory
and a diverse population?
• ISSUE #3: Will the new constitutional government
create an aristocratic power in the presidency?
• ISSUE #4: Does the proposed Constitution protect
the people’s liberty?
Struggle for Ratification
The Bill of Rights
• Anti-federalists
Ratification of the U.S. Constitution
•
•
•
•
9 out of 13 agreed (1788)
9th – 10th Amendment
Rhode Island
1791
– World’s oldest “living”
written constitution
Ratification of the Constitution – hippo campus:
http://www.hippocampus.org/History%20%26%20Government;jsessionid=84E1F91FC65EEED11F2884E333B01B0D
Key Principles of the Constitution
•
•
•
•
Federalism
Separation of Powers
Checks and Balances
Protection of Individual
Congress
Liberties
(House/Senate)
• Elastic
President
Supreme Court
Assembly –
State Senate
Governor
State courts
City Council
Mayor
District
courts
Left-Side
Varying Viewpoints
“The Constitution:
Revolutionary or Counterrevolutionary?”
p188-189
• Create a diagram
Side
• Identify:
(spider, cluster, flow-chart, etc.)
on the Left-
a) Time period
b) Point-of-view
c) the historian(s) who share those opinions.
• Take a Stand: Which analysis do you agree
with and support.