Transcript Anti-Federalist - socialstudieschitchat

CICERO
History Beyond The Textbook
Both Sides:
Federalists vs.
Anti-Federalists
CICERO © 2007
CICERO
History Beyond The Textbook
The Ratification Process
The drafting of the new United States Constitution was only the
beginning of the process to make it the law of the land. In order
for this to happen, at least nine of the thirteen states would have
to ratify the Constitution. The debate over ratification would split
the political leaders of the time. People who supported ratification
of the Constitution were Federalists, and those who opposed the
new Constitution were Anti-Federalists. The debate over
ratification of the Constitution would take place on the pages of
the many newspapers and pamphlets that circulated in the
country.
CICERO © 2007
CICERO
History Beyond The Textbook
The Federalists
Alexander
Hamilton
John Jay
Federalists supported ratification of
the Constitution. James Madison, who
had been a key figure in drafting of
the Constitution, along with
Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and
others answered criticisms of the new
Constitution. These men wanted to
push the ratification of the
Constitution and to influence future
interpretations of the Constitution.
James
Madison
CICERO © 2007
CICERO
History Beyond The Textbook
The Anti-Federalists
Patrick
Henry
George
Mason
Thomas
Paine
Anti-Federalists opposed ratification of
the Constitution. They argued that
although the Articles of Confederation
needed to be improved, the proposed
Constitution granted too much power to
the national government. Some of the
more famous Anti-Federalists included
Patrick Henry, George Mason, George
Clinton, and Thomas Paine. Other AntiFederalists preferred to remain
anonymous and used pseudonyms such
as Centinel, Brutus, and Republicus.
CICERO © 2007
CICERO
History Beyond The Textbook
The Federalists
The Federalist, was a series of eighty-five
articles written and published between
September 1787 and August 1788. The
articles presented arguments in favor of the
new Constitution. Although all of the
articles are signed Publius, it was well
known the main authors were Alexander
Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay.
Hamilton wrote the first essay in response
to a series of Anti-Federalist articles
criticizing the Constitution. Most of these
essays were published in The New York
Packet and The Independent Journal.
CICERO © 2007
CICERO
History Beyond The Textbook
The Anti-Federalists
George Clinton
“Cato”
Richard Henry Lee
“Federal Farmer”
Robert Yates
“Brutus” and
“Sydney”
Mercy Otis Warren
“Columbian Patriot”
The Anti-Federalist papers were a
series of editorials critical of the
Constitution. The primary
argument of the Anti-Federalists
was that the new government was
too powerful and threatened the
rights of the states and their
citizens. While most of the AntiFederalist papers were written
anonymously, historians are
confident they have identified
several of these writers.
Samuel Bryan “ ”
CICERO © 2007
CICERO
History Beyond The Textbook
Factions
The debate resulting from
ratification of the Constitution
split Americans between those
who favored a strong central
government and those who
wanted power to reside with the
states. Although President
George Washington warned of
political factions in his farewell address, the divisions that had
begun in 1787 led to the formation of the first political parties in
the United States: The Federalist Party and the DemocraticRepublican Party.
CICERO © 2007
CICERO
History Beyond The Textbook
The Result
Both sides in the debate between the
Federalists and the Anti-Federalists
won. The Federalists won when the
Constitution finally was ratified and
became the law of the land. The
Constitution established the federal
government as the central authority.
The Ant-Federalists won because the
James Madison presents the Bill
Bill of Rights would guarantee the
of Rights to Congress. While
rights of citizens.
twelve amendments were
originally proposed, only ten were
sent to the states for ratification.
CICERO © 2007
CICERO
History Beyond The Textbook
The Legacy
The Federalists and the AntiFederalists argued about basic
rights in the United States;
however, those arguments did not
end two hundred years ago with
the ratification of the United States
Constitution. The debate about the
supremacy of the federal
government over individual states
would not be settled until the Civil
War. The debate over the power
reserved to the states and its
citizens continues.
CICERO © 2007