The new Constitution was sent to the states, and each state had to call a convention. There, delegates would vote to ratify or not ratify. To ratify is to approve. Then the real debate began.
Those in favor of the Constitution were called Federalists. Federal refers to a central government. They thought the country would do better with a stronger central government.
Those who were against this idea were called Anti-Federalists. People didn’t support the Constitution for many reasons. Some thought a central government wouldn’t care about local problems. Some said it would overwhelm the states and take away the people’s rights. And some feared the government would be taken over by “the few and the great.” Others said the president would have too much power, or that the parts about slavery were immoral. The strongest argument against the document was that it didn’t state the rights of the people.
