U.S. History
The Road to Ratification:
The Battle Between Federalists & Anti-Federalists
After many long debates over how to structure the new government, the delegates
completed a final draft of the U.S. Constitution on September 15, 1787. The completed U.S.
Constitution was an outline for how the American government would operate. The
document was a list of rules that the government would have to follow. On that day the
delegates voted to support the Constitution in its final form. The next day it was written on
four large pieces of parchment paper and all but three of the delegates signed the document.
Copies of the document were then sent to all 13 states for ratification (official approval).
Small conventions were held in each state where delegates could debate whether or
not to ratify the new Constitution. Samuel Huntington said of the state conventions,
This is a new event in the history of mankind. Heretofore, most governments have been formed by tyrants and
imposed on mankind by force. Never before did a people…meet together by their representatives and…frame
themselves a system of government.
The Roots of America’s First Political Parties…
The Constitution had been printed in pamphlets and newspapers distributed
throughout the country. Citizens from all 13 states had been debating whether or not the
Constitution would be a good replacement for the old Articles of Confederation. The
Founding Fathers were aware that the Constitution was going to cause some controversy.
They began using different tactics to persuade Americans to ratify the document.
The Founding Fathers suspected that people would be afraid that the Constitution
took away too much power from the state governments. To calm people’s nerves, the
Founding Fathers explained that the Constitution was based on federalism. Federalism is a
system of government in which power is shared between the central (sometimes called the
federal or national) government and the states. Linking themselves to the idea of federalism,
the people who supported the ratification of the Constitution became known as Federalists.
Some historians view the Federalists as the first political party in the United States. The
Federalists were a group of people who shared the same beliefs about government (i.e. that
power should be shared between the states and the national government). Their main goal
was to convince other Americans to ratify the Constitution.
People who opposed the ratification of the Constitution were known as AntiFederalists. Some historians view the Anti-Federalists as one of the country’s first political
parties because they also had shared beliefs about government. They thought that the
Constitution took too much power away from the state governments. They feared that the
powerful federal government established by the Constitution could take away people’s
individual rights (much in the same way that the British Monarchy had done to the
colonists). Anti-Federalists did not like that the Constitution created the office of the
presidency. They feared that a powerful president might simply declare himself king. AntiFederalists wrote articles in newspapers saying that they could not believe that the same men
who fought against the powerful British tyranny would try to establish a new tyranny like the
Constitution. They feared that Americans would lose the liberties (freedoms) that they’d
won after the Revolutionary War. The table below highlights some of the different beliefs
that the Federalists and Anti-Federalists held.
Federalists
Anti-Federalists

Supported removing some powers
from the states and giving more
power to the national government

Wanted most of the important
political powers to remain with the
states

Favored dividing powers among
different branches of the government
(legislative, executive, judicial)


Proposed a single person (the
president) to be the head of the
executive branch

Wanted the legislative branch
(Congress) to have much more power
than the executive branch (the
president)
Feared that a strong executive
(president) might become a
tyrannical king

This map illustrates how a majority of people in
each sate felt about the ratification of the
Constitution. States that opposed the ratification
had large populations of Anti-Federalists. States
that supported the ratification had large populations
of Federalists.
Believed that a Bill of Rights needed to
be included in the Constitution to
protect people’s rights (i.e. the
freedom of speech, right to privacy,
right to own guns)
Name:
Date:
Core:
U.S. History
The Road to Ratification:
Reflection Questions
Directions: Use your class notes (today’s Do At Bell: Vocabulary Builder) and the Road to
Ratification: The Battle Between Federalists & Anti-Federalists handout to answer the following
questions.
Fact Check…
1. What is a political party? _________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
2. What is the U.S. Constitution? ____________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
3. Define the verb “rratify”: __________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
4. Define the word “ffederalism”: _____________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
5. Identify some ways that the two parties attempted to persuade other Americans to vote for or
against the ratification of the Constitution. _________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
6. Identify the two groups that some historians view as the United States’ first political parties.
Be sure to write the name of the political party next to the beliefs about government that
members of that political party held.
Political Party
Beliefs About Government
This party felt that the Constitution gave too
much power to the national government and did
not give enough power to the states.
This party believed that the Constitution was
better than the Articles of Confederation because
it balanced the powers of the national and state
government.
7. Map Skills. Study the map key and use it to answer the
following questions.
a. Were most people in Connecticut Federalists or
Anti-Federalists? _______________________
b. Were most people in Virginia Federalists or AntiFederalists? _______________________
c. Were most people in Masschusetts Federalists or
Anti-Federalists? _______________________
Reader Response…
1. Based on your understanding of the reading, do you think
a Federalist or an Anti-Federalist would support giving
only state governments the power to tax people? Support
your answer using evidence from the text.
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4
Exemplary




Insightful, well
organized, and fluent
Deep understanding of
text is demonstrated
Specific references to
text are used to support
ideas
Text references are well
interpreted and clearly
connected to response
3
Proficient




Thoughtful, organized,
and fluent
Clear understanding of
the text is demonstrated
Relevant references to
text are used to support
ideas
Text references are
explained and connected
to response
2
Progressing




Organized and
somewhat fluent
Basic understanding of
text is displayed
At least one relevant
example from text is
used to support ideas
Text references are
somewhat connected to
response
1
Beginning




Disorganized or confusing
Limited or no
understanding of text is
displayed
Limited or no examples
from text are used to
support ideas
Text reference seems
irrelevant to response