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Ratification Of The Constitution Dbq

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After the Constitution was written by the Philadelphia Convention in 1787, all the individual states of America had to be convinced for its ratification. But, opponents, named "Anti-Federalists" opposed against the Constitution's ratification for multiple reasons: some thought that the Constitution would "take away the power from individual states", others desired "an even more centralized government with a single popularly elected government" and finally, some seeked for a Bill of Rights to "protect individuals liberties", in fear of undermining "the claims of slaveholders or other property owners". James Jay, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison therefore wrote the Federalist Papers, eighty-five anonymous essays , in order to reduce the fears of Anti-Federalists and promote the Constitution's ratification. These papers described the importance …show more content…

The Federalist Paper 51, written by James Madison, establishes the necessity for checks and balances and the crucial factor of separating powers in order to develop a structured and balanced government. Hence, the Constitution visions to divide the government in three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. Nevertheless, James Madison argues that the separation of powers is not enough. He states that men are not angels, but merely motivated by ambition and "personal motives". Madison insists that "ambition should counteract ambition. The interest of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place." Essentially, Madison believes that the ambition and motives of men should be used to keep the branches within the

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