Ratifying The Constitution Dbq

The Federalists political party mostly consisted of the upper class people of the United States, such as merchants, and they wanted the Constitution to be ratified. However, they didn’t want the central government to be too powerful. This led to them allowing the states to continue to hold many of their powers. The Federalists realized that the Articles of Confederation failed to keep the country together yet, with all the power in the State’s hands, the United States was failing as a nation, so they thought that the Senate would be able to properly represent the State’s views so they could still contribute to the decisions made by the government. One federalist leader was Alexander Hamilton. Alexander Hamilton, New York, was a powerful man who fought for what he thought was right for the constitution. He disagreed with George Clinton, and this made him one of the strongest advocates in the government ("Alexander Hamilton, Federalist Leader"). Hamilton was Secretary of the Treasury under George Washington’s rule, and in the year 1790, he proposed that the debt of the Continental Congress should be paid in full ("Alexander Hamilton, Federalist Leader"). By his work here, it proves that he was pro-banking. John Jay also proved himself to be a federalist leader. He wrote five of the Federalist Papers, until he got sick. George Washington wanted him to be the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court ("John

The Federalist Party consisted of people who were very much Anglophiles. They loved Britain and all things British. The Federalists felt that there should be a loose constructionist interpretation of the constitution. They believed that there were things implied by or simply understood by the wording of the Constitution. According to the Federalists, just because something was not specifically written in the Constitution doesn't mean that it wasn't covered or addressed as something that the federal government could handle. The Federalist Party also supported a strong governmental leadership. They thought that the most important branch of government was the executive branch, and that a strong leader was needed in this office of president to make the country strong. Some important Federalist Party supporters included George Washington, John Adams, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton.

The ratification of the US Constitution in 1787 sparked a ferocious and spiteful debate between two large groups of people, those who supported the ratification and those who did not. Both sides were very passionate about their ideas yet they were so divergent, as one believed that the ratification could create a more powerful, unified country, while others worried about the government gaining perhaps too much control. The supporters and opponents equally had various strong reasons in their beliefs regarding the ratification of the US Constitution, the most common for the supporters being that the current government was heading badly, and a ratification would fix all the mistakes made originally and set the course for a successful government. On the other hand, the biggest concern for the opponents was that the ratification would give the government too much power, and there would be no controlling force to keep the government in its place.

The biggest fault in the Articles of Confederation was that it called for a confederacy, “each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every Power, Jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled” (Articles of Confederation, 1777, p.1). This state sovereignty went against republicanism, which is more closely associated with popular sovereignty. The American people want the government’s authority to come from the representatives that they elect. This is easily seen as a crucial idea of the Constitution in its preamble, “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union … do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of

As said by John Adams; the Constitutional Convention as “the greatest single effort of national deliberation that the world has ever see.” Most of the delegates at the convention had already been risking their lives by being threatened to being hung as traitors by the British. They were very worried that their states reactions to their decision to abandon the Articles of Confederation and create a new one wouldn’t be very accepting. Making the states realize that they should accept the constitution was as hard as they thought. It

After the Founding Fathers of America wrote our Constitution there was one more step they had to each achieve in order for it to go into effect: ratifying it. In order to ratify the Constitution nine out of the thirteen states had to agree to adopt it. The process of ratifying the Constitution turned into a debate between two groups: the Federalists and the Anti Federalist.

“In November 1777 the Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, the United States first written constitution.”(Ginsberg, et. al. 2014: 35). The Articles of Confederation played a big role in the drafting of the United States’ new constitution. The articles were our United States’ first written governing document. The Articles of Confederation solved some problems by creating at least a minimal amount of government at the time, but it also created some problem for our country because we did not have enough government. As time went on, the Founding Fathers found the issues with the Articles of Confederation, sought ways to solve those issues, and created the Constitution as a lasting governing document.

The Federalist Party was mostly made up of well-educated people such as merchants, bankers and manufacturers. According to historian Eric Foner, Hamilton’s “long term goal was to make the United States a major commercial and military power,” Hamilton used Great Britain as a model of economic development, and greatly stressed the importance of government aid in manufacturing, trade, and commerce. As stated by Foner, “Hamilton’s program called for the creation of a Bank of the United States, modeled on the Bank of England, to serve as the nation’s main financial agent.” His plan was to create a private back with the goal of creating a common currency. Lastly, Hamilton and the Federalists distrusted the common people and believed that they were ignorant and incapable of self-rule. Therefore, a strong central

The Federalist argument is one that is defined by a strong central government. Some federalists included Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. These people were also the authors of the famous “Federalist Papers”, they wrote under the name “Publius”. These essays explored different aspects of federalist ideas about government. Some of their most famous works were Federalist Papers #51 and #10. In these, Hamilton explored the nature of man from their natural “ambitions” to the formation of “factions” (Federalist Paper #51, #10). These two papers focused on suggesting a means of controlling these things, including checks and balances and political parties. These papers were created very much in the line of federalist thinking. Federalist

The Articles of Confederation was the United State’s first constitution, it was written in an effort to unite the states after the American Revolution and served as a blueprint for the modern constitution. In order for the Articles to become official, they had to be approved by all thirteen colonies. Although Congress sent the Articles of Confederation to the states around the end of 1777 to become ratified, they were not officially adopted until March 1, 1781. Under these Articles, the states remained sovereign and independent, with Congress serving as the last resort on appeal of disputes. The American people feared a strong national government and as a result of this, the Articles of Confederation were specifically designed to be weak in the sense that each state maintains its own sovereignty and all rights to govern themselves, with the except of the rights exclusively granted to Congress. Since the Articles lacked many necessary components to keep a nation properly structured, they were eventually revised into the constitution we recognize today. Although, the Articles of Confederation seemed as though it only contained weaknesses, within the document, many strengths and accomplishments were made. Overall, the Articles of Confederation were proven to be both efficient and non-efficient during the time period they were in effect.

Along with an economic system, Federalist believed in a powerful national government and army. Hamilton wanted the government to be centralized and

“The Constitution devotes the national domain to union, to justice, to defense, to welfare and to liberty” (Maier 154). This quote, stated by William Henry Seward, displays the strength and stability that the Constitution had over the nation, and the liberty and justice it supplied for all of its citizens. Although the Constitution and the Articles of Confederation have similarities, they have many differences, which proved that the Articles of Confederation were a weaker document in comparison. It can be said that the Articles were the “rough draft” to the final living document, which significantly influenced and “ruled” our government, as it still does today.

The Federalist who was mainly lead by Alexander Hamilton, who had the position of a treasure when George Washington was president, wanted a strong central government that rivaled Great Britain. While, Thomas Jefferson, who was in charge of foreign relations (starting 1789), wanted a small, farmer to producer nation. Hamilton while being

The Federalists were led by an individual by the name of Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton was thought of as an intellectual with a mind that blew many. These Federalists were the first political party of the United States of America. They wanted a strong national

In the current situation of making a decision whether to ratify or not ratify the Constitution, the Constitution should not be ratified. Due to serious problems and issues that could arise, and the problems and issues experienced in the past under the British parliament, the Constitution should not be passed and the Articles of Confederation should be kept to keep a strong state government. Issues like being under complete under control, favoring the wealthy, and having no rights should be corrected.