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Compare And Contrast The Ways In Which Supporters Of The Constitution Dbq

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Over 200 years ago, the foundation of the United States government was established through the Constitution. Some believed this new prospect as valuable and necessary, while others believed it to be irrational and unnecessary. Although the states were called the United States, their views and opinions did not coincide with one another. Recently defeating the powerful British Parliament in 1783, Americans desired a government that guaranteed their liberties and promised freedom. Many states ratified the Constitution almost immediately, but others debated vigorously over accepting it. The new government was established in 1789 and George Washington became president in April of that year. Even though the Constitution was already accepted, it took …show more content…

They believed that the issues were present in every part of the country and every aspect of life. The most prominent “distresses” one supporter, an editor of a newspaper, described included “the complaints of our farmers...the complaints of every class of public creditors...the melancholy faces of our working people...our ships rotting in our harbors...the insults that are offered to the American name and character in every court of Europe.” The editor told his readers to ask themselves if, based on these “distresses” he just listed, they really thought they did not need “a new, a protecting, and efficient federal government” (Document 1). Supporters of the Constitution wanted a government that functioned in a way that was beneficial and accommodating to them. George Washington was a supporter of the Constitution because he believed that the United States had “errors to correct,” and he was convinced there was still time to find a solution to the errors (Document 3). Furthermore, in order to win the approval of the opponents of the Constitution, the addition of the Tenth Amendment was made. Supporters may have believed that by giving individual power to the states would allow the ratification of the Constitution to become more probable. The opinion of the majority was that “certain amendments and alterations in the said Constitution would remove the fears and quiet the apprehensions of many of the good people of the commonwealth” (Document

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