Ratification DBQ The Constitution is a document that still stands as America’s governing body, proving its strength and ability to stand the test of time. Although some aspects of the document are debated and the argument of what is and what is not constitutional is discussed often, it has proven to be right for America and its people. However, in the late 1700s, not everyone saw the Constitution as strong and supported its state-power-heavy predecessor, The Articles of Confederation. Those fond of the Articles and against the Constitution thought that America worked better as a nation where the states had more power than the national, or federal, government. However, seeing that the Articles of Confederation are no longer in effect, but rather …show more content…
There are a few trends that can be seen about Anti-Federalists, as there are surrounding any political group. As seen in a map depicting where the majority of Anti-Federalists and Federalists were, it is seen that most of the Anti-Federalists lived in the South, large states, or both (Document 4). Ultimately, this is saying that states with large populations (be it due to the slave population or the actual area of the state) were in favor of a governing body stating that the federal government would stay out of the states’ ways and let them control matters as they arise. Another opposition that Anti-Federalists had towards the Constitution is the lack of protection over Americans. Anti-Federalist George Bryan spoke out and said “what security does the Constitution of the several states afford the liberty of the press and other invaluable personal rights, not provided for by the new plan” (Document 2)? Many Anti-Federalists carried that belief because the Constitution promised nothing for the people, only instructed how the government and its powers were to be divided. So if this is how a fraction of America thought, what did the rest, the Federalists, …show more content…
Federalists were led by many famous names including Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, George Washington, and The Father of the Constitution, James Madison (Document 3). Federalists can state that the Constitution is better seeing that events like Shays’ Rebellion would not have happened since the federal government could levy taxes and generate revenue. There were many angry farmers, led by Daniel Shays, demanding compensation for their service during the Revolutionary War. However, since the Articles of Confederation stated that the federal government would not be able to levy taxes and pay the veterans. At the same time, the state of Massachusetts was taxing farmers that had no money after fighting in a war for at least a year, posing the threat of losing their property. Obviously learning from previous mistakes, in a letter to George Washington, James Madison said that the national government should have the authority to control any situation that involves a powerful, unified decision “such as the regulation of trade, including the right of taxing both exports and imports…” (Document
The Constitution was based on Federalist ideas of a strong central government with Hamilton’s economic plan of a national bank and high tariffs.. However, anti-federalist’s leaders, Jefferson and Madison, believed that Hamilton’s economic plan will benefits the affluents. As a result, the anti-federalist disapprove the constitution since it damages their agriculture’s
The Articles of Confederation were, in short, a hot mess. Nothing could get done; the power dynamics among the thirteen states and the lack of power within the federal government to intervene led to utter disarray. In Document 3, George Washington admits in a letter that the Articles of Confederation were faulty in that they had “too good an opinion of human nature” and the leniency of the Articles had created “thirteen sovereign, independent, disunited States”. The hopes of creating a nation out of the thirteen colonies were destroyed with the Articles of Confederation, and unity could only be achieved through establishing a stronger national government. Document 1 goes farther in describing the perils of a nation split apart at the seams
When the Constitution was first drafted in Philadelphia, 1787, there was strong opposition to it from the supporters of the Articles of Confederation, America’s first governing document. One of the starkest Anti-Federalists, Patrick Henry, believed the Constitution was a gateway to power for tyrants, similarly, Thomas Jefferson strongly opposed the Constitution’s ratification, believing the Constitution would strip Americans of their freedoms and liberties. Despite their efforts, the Constitution was signed into law, and is now contrarily viewed as that which protects Americans’ rights. The US Constitution is a more democratic document than the Articles of Confederation because under the Articles there was no proportional representation, Americans did not directly vote for any representatives in Congress under the Articles, and the Constitution implemented federal income taxes were able to fund a government that could effectively protect the rights of American citizens.
US History Name: Professor: Class: Date Introduction American’s first government was under the Articles of Confederation. The articles proved insufficient to form a stable government, as the central government was weak. Delegates in charge of the task of reforming the government met at the Philadelphia Convention in an attempt to resolve the same. They decided to enact an entirely new government by forming a constitution.
As a new republic, we cannot afford to make the same mistake twice when establishing the law of the land for our government. The weaknesses and flaws in the Articles of Confederation were evident when Shay’s rebellion arose not long ago in Massachusetts. How do we protect the law-abiding citizen from enemies, both foreign and domestic, who seek to disrupt the Liberty of the United States and jeopardize our security? The Constitution of the United States Article 1, Section 8, Clause 12 state, “The Congress shall have Power To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years.” We the people of the United States must ratify the Constitution in order to create a Standing Army that provide security against both internal and external threats of America.
In early 1787, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and other nationalist leaders decided to improve and create a perfect union. The Constitution was then created, and the people who supported it were called the Federalists. Led by Alexander Hamilton, the Federalist group supported the Constitution, but as soon as they introduced it to all the states, not all the people agreed and supported to what it said, and that is why the Anti-Federalist group was created. Anti-Federalist were the people who were against the Constitution and believed that it didn’t give enough rights to the individual citizens. They were constantly trying to add in The Bill of Rights to the Constitution of the United States, which they successfully did
The Federalist believed that establishing a national government was not only possible, but mandatory in order to create a healthy nation. Until this point, the common belief was that a government may solely operate effectively, if it had little power. The Federalists challenged this belief and claimed that a powerful national government would better sustain the rights of the people. The Federalist also argued that, that the new government would not have too much power because of checks and balances that would help prevent the national government from total control, which was stressed by James Madison in Federalist No. 51, “The different governments will control each other, at the same time that each will be controlled by itself”. While the opposite party, the Anti-Federalist were small farmers and middle class people who were led by Patrick Henry, and other important middle class figures.
The era is 1785-1799, and the people of the states are hard at work. The Articles of Confederation were a slow and admittedly rocky start to the country, and many want this next document to cement their identity as a successful force. In desperate need of reform, delegates from 12 of the 13 states gather together in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The full extent of the country is finally dawning on people, who realize that such a large body of citizens will have clashes and issues. Many also realize that a central government is crucial to the success of a nation, but are worried that the new government will overpower the states.
When the Articles of Confederation failed to organize the citizens and the economy of America its citizens decided to advocate for a different form of government, that arose in the creation of the Constitution, the supreme law of the land. As a new form of government was presented the fear that the American Revolution had brought upon the colonies lead to the creation of two different political groups the Federalist and Anti- federalist that stood for those who feared the government and those who believed that the government should be stronger. Based on the Federalist papers I believe that the Anti- federalist had a better argument as they pushed for the protection of individual rights and the limitation of the power of the government. Federalist
Many times anti-federalist are given a misconception, they are portrayed as self-serving, nefarious, and unpatriotic trash of history. Really, many of the most visible Anti-Federalist were highly respected individuals who fought in the revolutionary war, signed the Deceleration of Independence, and were political strongholds in their own states. Some of these men were Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, and future president James Monroe. The opposing side consisted of men like Alexander hamilton, James Madison and George Washington.
Created in 1789, the Constitution was the final piece in making the United States official. Starting off with the famous “We the people”, this document protects citizens’ rights, gives the branches of government their power, and is used as a reference when creating laws. The first technical constitution of the United States was the Articles of Confederation, which was lacking in many areas and was defective. The Constitution we have now focuses on the rights of the individual, and is referred to quite often to determine if an act is constitutional or not; however, it didn’t start off that way.
A constitution may be defined as principles that establish the function, powers, and limits of a country such that gives people equal rights. After the American Revolution, America had a zeal for a central government that will be stable and strong though the practiced confederation government where each state operated like an independent country. There was no president or judicial branch, they only operated with a single legislature and the congress of the confederation. They used the Article of Confederation which was the first American constitution that was later ratified in 1781. This American constitution is the most important document in America and the oldest constitution in the world.
The Constitution “Give me liberty, or give me death!” (Patrick Henry) The introduction of the Constitution brought along a frenzied dispute between two parties of people known as the Federalists, and Anti-Federalists. Each of these parties had theories on whether or not they believed the Constitution should be ratified. The Federalists, a like James Madison, were the individuals who were for the ratification of the Constitution.
Throughout our education careers, we should have learned the importance of both sides of the Constitution debate. However, many have only seen the winning side (Federalist) then the opposing side (Anti-federalist's). The main arguments that arose during the debate concerning the United States Constitution was that the Anti-federalist believed the constitution threatened liberties, failed to protect individuals rights, threatened the sovereignty of the states, and gave to much power to the federal government. Most of the individuals on the opposing side was farmers and workers, which was mainly against anything dealing with a strong national government. They believed that the Bill of Rights would prevent individuals rights from being taken.
The Classic political belief of the Revolutionary Era held that had strong full authority would naturally lead to an abuse of power. The Federalists were also well aware of the problems of the country in the 1780s started from the weaknesses of the central government created by the Articles of Confederation. For Federalists, the Constitution was needed in order to hold the liberty and independence that the American Revolution had created. While the Federalists absolutely had created a new political existence, they saw their most import part as defending the social development of the Revolution. As James Madison, one of the great Federalist leaders later described, the Constitution was designed to be a "republican cure for the diseases mostly occasional to republican government."