THE RATIFICATION DEBATE
THE RATIFICATION DEBATE
• 1. The US Constitution was approved by
39 out of 55 delegates at the
Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia
on September 17, 1787.
• The next step was RATIFICATION. Article
VII required 9 out of 13 states to approve
the new Constitution.
THE RATIFICATION DEBATE
2. The debates over this new
government continued merely
changing their location from
Philadelphia to each of the 13
new states.
THE RATIFICATION DEBATE
• 3. The debates centered on
the proper scope of
government. An argument
that continues today with
Liberals and Conservatives.
THE RATIFICATION DEBATE
• 4. The Ratification Debate led to the
rise of political parties in the US.
• Those in favor of the new
Constitution were called Federalists.
• Those opposed were called AntiFederalists
THE RATIFICATION DEBATE
• 5. The Anti-Federalists were led by
Patrick Henry, George Mason,
Elbridge Gerry, and even Thomas
Jefferson
THE RATIFICATION DEBATE
• 6. The Anti-Federalists feared a strong
national government:
• It needed a Bill of Rights
• Supremacy Clause took away states’ rights
• The Power to Tax
• The Elastic Clause (Art I S8, Cl 18) was an
independent grant of power that would be
abused.
THE RATIFICATION DEBATE
• 7. The leading Federalists decided to
be proactive in ratification by writing
a series of articles called THE
FEDERALIST PAPERS – a series of 85
articles published in New York.
THE RATIFICATION DEBATE
• 8. Who wrote The Federalist
Papers?
THE RATIFICATION DEBATE
• 8. The Federalist Papers
• James Madison – the Father of the
US Constitution
• Alexander Hamilton – the First
Secretary of the Treasury
• John Jay – the First US Supreme
Court Chief Justice
THE RATIFICATION DEBATE
• 9. What was the purpose of The
Federalist Papers?
THE RATIFICATION DEBATE
• 9. What was the purpose of The
Federalist Papers?
• EXPLAIN THE NEW CONSTITUTION,
ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT
WAS CREATED IN PHILLY, ALLAY FEARS
OF THE POPULATION OVER A STRONGER
NATIONAL GOVERNMENT, AND DRUM
UP SUPPORT FOR RATIFICATION
THE RATIFICATION DEBATE
• The decision to add a Bill of
Rights was the last of the many
great compromises that forged
this new Constitution and sets us
on the path to greatness.
FEDERALIST PAPER NO. 51
• As we study the US political system, it is often
necessary to go back and read the early
documents that serve as the foundation of our
government.
• One of these documents is Federalist Paper
No. 51.
FEDERALIST PAPER NO. 51
• This article was devoted to explaining 2 of the
Big 6 Constitutional Concepts:
• SEPARATION OF POWERS
• CHECKS AND BALANCES
“The Structure of the Government Must
Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances
Between the Different Departments”
FEDERALIST 51 ASSIGNMENT
• GROUP EXERCISE
• 1ST – READ YOUR ASSIGNED PARAGRAPH and Summarize
the Main idea of the assigned paragraph.
• 2nd – Discuss the Main Idea among your group
• 3rd – Complete the poster including the following
information
• Main Idea and 1-2 supporting details from the paragraph
• One important quote from the paragraph
• 5th – Present to the class - Explain how this idea reflects on
the Big 6 Constitutional Principles - Separation of Powers
and Checks and Balances
•
FEDERALIST PAPER NO. 51
• 1. “In order to lay a due foundation for that
separate and distinct exercise of the different
powers of government, which to a certain
extent is admitted on all hands to be essential
to the preservation of liberty, . . .”
• What is Madison talking about here?
FEDERALIST PAPER NO. 51
• 2. “If men were angels, no government would
be necessary. If angels were to govern men,
neither external nor internal controls on
government would be necessary.”
• What is Madison talking about here?
FEDERALIST PAPER NO. 51
• 3. “In framing a government which is to be
administered by men over men, the great
difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the
government to control the governed; and in
the next place oblige it to control itself.“
• What is Madison talking about here?
FEDERALIST PAPER NO. 51
• 4. “A dependence on the people is, no doubt,
the primary control on the government; but
experience has taught mankind the necessity
of auxiliary precautions.”
• What is Madison talking about here?
FEDERALIST PAPER NO. 51
• 5. “In republican government, the legislative
authority necessarily predominates. . . As the
weight of the legislative authority requires that it
should be thus divided, the weakness of the
executive may require, on the other hand, that it
should be fortified. An absolute negative on the
legislature appears, at first view, to be the natural
defense with which the executive magistrate
should be armed. “
• What is Madison talking about here?
FEDERALIST PAPER NO. 51
• 6. “In the compound republic of America, the
power surrendered by the people is first
divided between two distinct governments,
and then the portion allotted to each
subdivided among distinct and separate
departments. Hence a double security arises
to the rights of the people.”
• What is Madison talking about here?
FEDERALIST PAPER NO. 51
• 7. “Second. It is of great importance in a
republic not only to guard the society against
the oppression of its rulers, but to guard one
part of the society against the injustice of the
other part. If a majority be united by a
common interest, the rights of the minority
will be insecure.”
• What is Madison talking about here?
FEDERALIST PAPER NO. 51
• 8. “There are but two methods of providing
against this evil: the one by creating a will in
the community independent of the majority -that is, of the society itself; the other, by
comprehending in the society so many
separate descriptions of citizens as will render
an unjust combination of a majority of the
whole very improbable, if not impracticable.”
• What is Madison talking about here?
FEDERALIST PAPER NO. 51
• 9. “Justice is the end of government. It is the
end of civil society.”
• What is Madison talking about here?