And the Federalists and Anti-Federalists John Locke And the Federalists and Anti-Federalists
John Locke English philosopher Lived during “The Glorious Revolution” Natural Rights: life, liberty, estate Wrote Second Treatise on Government People will create a government to protect their possessions Government will eventually abuse their power When that happens the citizens should rebel and replace their government
Federalist vs. Anti-Federalist Federalists Anti-Federalists James Madison Alexander Hamilton Ratify constitution Strong central government Thomas Jefferson Patrick Henry (VA)- No strong national government Against the Constitution without a Bill of Rights Afraid that the president would become a monarchy
Federalist Papers Written to persuade the states to ratify the Constitution Written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay Most famous are Federalist #10, Federalist #48, and Federalist #51
Federalist # 10 “Among the numerous advantages promised by a well constructed union, none deserves to be more accurately developed, than its tendency to break and control the violence of faction.”
Protection against Factions Federalist #10—Written by James Madison What else did Madison say would protect against factions (from the movie)?
# 48 – Separation of Powers In the proposed government, however, it is the legislative branch that is most likely to abuse power. More power, both unrefined and unlimited, has been granted to it than to the other two branches. In addition, the legislative branch controls the money and has the greatest influence in the determination of salaries paid to government employees. Such a situation invites corruption. Presidential power, on the other hand, is simpler in nature, and the Constitution clearly defines and limits it. The same is true of judicial power. Any attempt by these two branches to infringe upon the Congress would be quickly detected and blocked.
Separation of Powers Federalist #48—written by James Madison What are the 3 branches of government? How does the Constitution divide up these powers?
#51 – Checks and Balances Each branch should be, in Madison's opinion, mostly independent. To assure such independence, no one branch should have too much power in selecting members of the other two branches. If this principle were strictly followed, it would mean that the citizens should select the president, the legislators, and the judges. But the framers recognized certain difficulties in making every office elective. In particular, the judicial branch would suffer because the average person is not aware of the qualifications judges should possess. Judges should have great ability, but also be free of political pressures. Since federal judges are appointed for life, their thinking will not be influenced by the president who appoints them, nor the senators whose consent the president will seek.
Checks and Balances Federalist #51—written by James Madison What is checks and balances? Why are they important? What do they protect us against?
#51 – most famous line If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.
Ratification of the Constitution Date State Yes No Dec. 7, 1787 Delaware 30 Dec. 11, 1787 Pennsylvania 46 23 Dec. 18. 1787 New Jersey 38 Jan. 2, 1788 Georgia 26 Jan. 9, 1788 Connecticut 128 40 Feb. 6, 1788 Massachusetts 187 168 April 26, 1788 Maryland 63 11 May 23, 1788 South Carolina 149 73 June 21, 1788 N. Hampshire 57 47 June 25, 1788 Virginia 89 79 July 26, 1788 New York 27 Nov. 21, 1789 N. Carolina 194 77 May 29, 1790 Rhode Island 34 32 Ratification of the Constitution Only needed 9 states for the Constitution to be placed in effect.