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.