Ratification and the Bill of Rights Chapter 7 lesson 4

I. Federalists vs. Anti federalists In 1787 and 1788, each state elected delegates to a special state convention that would decide if the state would ratify the Constitution In every state there was a heated debate between two groups,the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists.

Ii. Federalist Position Argued that the Articles of Confederation left too much power with states, that produced an imbalance that produced a weak federal government. Disputes between the states made it hard for the government to function Constitution gave the government the authority to function effectively but at the same time it protected the rights and powers of individuals and states. Federalists like Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison wrote essays known as the Federalists Papers to explain and defend the Constitution

iii. Anti federalist Position Thought the Constitution left the national government too strong and the states too weak. Thought it gave the president too much power. Antifederalists admired Washington and knew he would not abuse the power but were uncertain of future presidents.

IV. Key Issue Antifederalists main concern with the Constitution was that it did not include a bill of rights. They wanted to make sure that the war they just fought to protect their freedoms was not pointless. Wanted a bill of rights to protect basic freedoms like freedom of speech and religion Federalists replied that it was impossible to list all of a persons natural rights. They said the Constitution protected the people well enough

V. States vote to ratify One by one the states started voting on the Constitution. The first state to ratify was Delaware on December 7,1787 followed by Pennsylvania and New Jersey (also in December) Over the course of the next three years, all the colonies would ratify the Constitution with the promise of a bill of rights to be added. The last state to ratify would be Rhode Island on May 29, 1790

Vi. Adding a bill of rights Americans voted in the first election under the new Constitution in January 1789. As expected, Washington became the first President and John Adams was chosen as Vice President The first Congress met in New York city which was our nation’s first capital city The first thing Congress did was to add a bill of rights to the Constitution.

E. Making changes to Constitution Framers of the Constitution established a way that the constitution could be amended (changed) if the need arose. The framers did not want people to take it lightly when changing the Constitution so they made it difficult 1789- Congress proposed a set of 12 amendments that were written by James Madison December 1791 -¾ of the states had ratified 10 of the 12 amendments. These amendments became known as the Bill of Rights

Vii. What is a Bill of rights? Madison made it clear that the Bill of Rights did not give Americans any rights. It simply was a list of rights that belonged to all human beings. The Bill of Rights prevents the government from taking these rights away. Some of the rights were intended to prevent the same abuse Americans suffered under British rule. Other amendments were to protect a person’s rights. With the Bill of rights, the framework of the Government was now set and the Constitution became a living breathing document that could be changed as the country changed.