THE STRUGGLE FOR RATIFICATION: 1787-1790
Key Terms, Ideas and Events:
Ratification – Anti-Federalists – Federalists – Federalists Papers – Reasons why Anti-Federalists opposed the Constitution
– Why New York and Virginia were important to ratification of the Constitution
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------By September 1787, the Philadelphia Convention had
created a new Constitution for the United States of
America, but many of the delegates1 had doubts as to
whether the states would approve it.
Since the framers2 had already decided to scrap the
Articles of Confederation and write a new Constitution,
they no longer felt bound by Articles’ requirement of a
unanimous vote for ratification.3 The delegates agreed
that approval from only 9 of the 13 states would be
needed to ratify the new Constitution. Even with the
new ratification requirements, the framers knew the
process would not be easy.
The public, expecting a revised version of the Articles of
Confederation, was shocked by this new document. The
Philadelphia Convention had been a very private affair,
and only the individuals inside the meeting room were
aware of the drastic changes that were taking place.
Each state held a ratifying convention in which a fierce
battle ensued producing hundreds of pamphlets and
newspaper articles. Soon two sides emerged in the
debate over the struggle for ratification of the
Constitution - the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists.
The Federalists, supporters of the Constitution, were
mostly wealthy, well-educated and wanted a powerful
centralized government. They were for an orderly,
efficient government that could protect their economic
interest.
Their opponents, the Anti-Federalists, were generally
farmers and other lower class people who were loyal to
their state governments. The Anti-Federalists presented
themselves as defenders of the true principles of the
Revolution. They viewed the Constitution as a betrayal
of those principles. They feared a large central
government, especially its power of taxation. And there
was no Bill of Rights to protect the liberties of the
citizens.
To lessen the fears of the Anti-Federalists, Alexander
Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay collaborated on
a series of essays published in newspapers explaining
the need for a strong centralized government so the
United States could earn the respect of other countries
and argued that limitations on governmental power
were built into the Constitution with the system of
check and balances4. Later these articles were
published as a book entitled The Federalists Papers.
With the assistance of The Federalists Papers, the
Federalists were able to break down Anti-Federalists
resistance and gain enough support to ratify the
Constitution. Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey
became the first states to ratify Constitution (Dec.
1787), followed by Georgia, Connecticut,
Massachusetts, Maryland and South Carolina (Jan. –
May 1788). The pivotal vote came in June 1788 when
New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the
Constitution. With this vote, the Constitution went into
effect, making the document become the law of the
land.
However, even with the ratification of the Constitution,
the framers understood that all 13 states, especially the
two largest, Virginia and New York, needed to accept
the laws of the Constitution.
The debate in Virginia was hotly contested. AntiFederalists like Patrick Henry (“I smell a rat”) protested
that the Constitution failed to address the rights of
individuals. Madison answered Henry’s objection to the
Constitution by promising a Bill of Rights would be
1
A person sent to represent others at a conference
The writers
3
approval
2
4
James Madison borrowed the idea of separation of powers
and checks and balances from Baron Charles de Montesquieu
THE STRUGGLE FOR RATIFICATION: 1787-1790
added as amendments and only after the Constitution
had been ratified.
When Virginia ratified, New York soon followed. North
Carolina waited for the addition of the Bill of Rights.
Last of all, Rhode Island ratified after being threatened
with an economic boycott by the United States
Congress.