The Ratification Conflict

The Ratification Conflict

Objective – After you have completed this assignment and class activity, you should be able to discuss the controversy over the ratification of the Constitution, including the views of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists.

The whole challenge of developing a new government for the United States did not end when the Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787. Over the next 10 months, the new document had to be ratified, or approved, by nine of the thirteen states in order to become law. In each state, the state legislature would receive the new Constitution, but not vote on it. Instead, delegates to a ratifying convention would be selected in each state, and these conventions would vote for the support (or disapproval) if the new constitution. Simple, right? Well …

The Framers thought the constitution would be approved fairly quickly. By putting the Constitution in the hands of specially elected conventions, the jealous state governments would be avoided (since they were losing some power under this new form of government). It would obviously be much easier to gain the support of nine states, as opposed to all thirteen states as under the Articles of Confederation. The delegates also saw the Constitution as a fundamental law requiring the support of more than just the state legislatures. They hoped that the ratification process itself would persuade Americans to think of themselves as a nation, encouraging them to look beyond their state's borders in deciding whether to support the Constitution and persuading them to adopt a new government for the American nation. Also, the Constitution's supporters hoped that a series of quick ratifications by the first state conventions might generate momentum that would be difficult to resist. Still simple, right? Well …

Ratification was not that simple, since there were many possible roadblocks in the way. For one, the Confederation Congress might reject the Constitution, rewrite it, or refer it to a second general convention, claiming that the first had violated its instructions of revising the Articles. For the same reason, the states might refuse to elect ratifying conventions. Enough state conventions might reject the Constitution (whether as an unlawful proposal or on its merits) to prevent its execution. Finally, rejection by the legislatures or conventions of any or all of four key states—Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia—might cripple the Constitution, even if the necessary nine states did approve it. These possibilities dominated American politics of the time.

Thankfully, the Confederation Congress sent the Constitution to the states with neither an endorsement nor a condemnation. This action, a compromise engineered by supporters of the Constitution, ended of the possible problem that the convention had exceeded its power in making a new government. Following the submission to the states, the state legislatures' decisions to hold ratifying conventions helped to confirm the Constitution's legitimacy. So everything would run smoothly, right? Well …

As the Constitution was sent to the states, a few states quickly ratified the document in their convention. Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey quickly ratified in December of 1787, followed by Connecticut and Georgia in January and Massachusetts in February of 1788. The ratification vote in many of the states was very much in support of the Constitution, with Massachusetts facing some challenge from opponents to the new government. With six states quickly accepting, it seemed inevitable that the nine necessary states would soon approve, and the new government would take its place in the young United States. No problems, right? Well …

Two groups developed in many of the remaining states – supporters of the new Constitution, who called themselves “The Federalists”, and opponents to the document, who were dubbed the “Antifederalists) by the supporters. These two groups battled it out in the key states of New York and Virginia, and it seemed that the fate of the new government (and therefore the nation) rested on the outcome of this debate. We will have our own debate in class tomorrow as you drop your role of a delegate to the Federal Convention and wear a new hat – that of a supporter or opponent to the ratification of the Constitution.

In class tomorrow, you will be aFEDERALIST, or asupporter of the Constitution. To prepare, you should spend 20 minutes looking at the resources listed online to help you examine the views of the supporters. Using those resources, begin filling in your side of the notes on the Federalists vs. Antifederalists. You will be required to speak in the debate tomorrow, so the more opinions you have, the better off you will be. You can also use the space below to come up with any questions you may have as you check out the resources.

Any questions as you read?

Once you have completed this assignment and the class activity, you should be able to do the following …

I understand why the Federalists developed after the writing of the Constitution and how they used the Federalist papers to persuade the public.

I understand why the Antifederalists developed after the writing of the Constitution and the main points of their argument against the Constitution.

I can describe many of the views of the Federalists and Antifederalists, especially if I am asked to do so on a test next week.

I understand that the Constitution had been ratified by nine states, but without the support of New York and Virginia, the nation wouldn’t succeed.

I can discuss the compromise made in order to get the support of New York and Virginia.

I can argue that the Antifederalists won, even though they lost.