Ratification Review

Terms Ratify – to give formal approval Censure – to express disapproval Dissent – to disagree or withhold approval Successor – person or thing that replaces or follows another.

Reviewing Social Studies Skills a.Why did some of the delegates want to censure the convention? A group of representatives wanted to censure the convention for going beyond their instructions to revise the Articles of Confederation.

Which three influential Virginians were opposed to the Constitution? Among those opposed to ratification were such well known and respected Virginia politicians as Patrick Henry, George Mason, and Richard Henry Lee.

Why did the Massachusetts ratifying convention propose that a bill of rights be added to the Constitution? When Massachusetts ratified the Constitution, the state convention proposed a series of amendments to guarantee the rights of citizens

Reviewing the Main Ideas a.What was the difference between the Federalists’ and the Antifederalists’ positions on the new Constitution? The Federalists supported the Constitution, emphasizing the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. The Antifederalists believed that the document gave the national government and the President too much power and criticized the indirect election of the President and the Senate as being too far removed from the people, for an unsatisfactory ratification process, and for not having a bill of rights.

b. Why was the support of New York and Virginia so important, even after nine states had ratified the Constitution? Both states were large and important, and without their support, the new government might have failed.

c. What important action did the First Congress take in 1789? Members of the first Congress approved 12 amendments, including the 10 that became known as the Bill of Rights

Critical Thinking Why did the promise of a bill of rights convince many delegates at state ratifying conventions to vote in favor of the Constitution? Many of the delegates at the state ratifying conventions worried that a strong national government might threaten the freedoms they had just fought a revolution to protect. The promise of a bill of rights reassured these men that their basic liberties would be protected and convinced them to vote for the ratification of the Constitution.