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The new Constitution was sent to the states, and each state was supposed to call a convention, where delegates would vote to ratify or not ratify the document. Then the real debate began.
Those who supported 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 opposed to this idea were called Anti-Federalists. People had many reasons for being against the Constitution. Some thought a central government wouldn’t care about local issues, and some said it would overwhelm the states and take away the people’s rights. Other people feared the government would be taken over by “the few and the great,” while some said the president would have too much power. Others said the slavery clauses were immoral. The strongest argument against the document was that it did not state the rights of the people.
▲ James Madison became known as the “Father of the Constitution.” He made speeches, negotiated with delegates, forged compromises, and kept a record of the debates and decisions that happened at the Constitutional Convention. Madison told the delegates that the plan they came up with would “decide forever the fate of republican government.” Other men who helped write the Constitution included Gouverneur Morris, John Dickinson, Edmund Randolph, Roger Sherman, James Wilson, and George Wythe. Morris put the Convention’s resolutions and decisions into polished form. He actually “wrote” the Constitution.
▲ Anti-Federalists in Massachusetts included Samuel Adams and John Hancock (above), heroes of the Revolution. The Federalists won them over by promising to push for a bill of rights as soon as the Constitution was ratified.
Today, groups express their opinions on TV and the Internet. Until radio in the early twentieth century, people depended on ink and paper or public speeches. James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay wrote 85 essays in favor of the Constitution, and these were collectively known as The Federalist Papers. Others wrote essays and letters in opposition. ▼
◀ Three states—Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey—quickly ratified, and Georgia and Connecticut soon followed. The smaller states saw the advantage of strength in numbers. Connecticut and New Jersey had been angered by New York’s taxes on the goods they sold in that state, and they hoped the new government would bring tax relief. Georgia wanted help from the new government to protect its frontier from Indian attack.
New Hampshire had a hard time deciding. There were the usual arguments against ratifying, and some in the state were opposed because the Constitution did not end slavery. Still, in June 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify. The Constitution went into effect for those nine states, and the Union was established. ▶
◀ Even though nine states had ratified, two of the most powerful states had not. Many wondered if a country without New York and Virginia could survive. In Virginia, Patrick Henry and other heroes of the Revolution spoke against the Constitution, which they thought needed a bill of rights. The state finally ratified in June 1788. The New York convention had a majority of Anti-Federalists, and many New Yorkers believed the Union would not succeed without Virginia. Alexander Hamilton was a powerful voice for ratification. When Virginia ratified, New York gave in. On July 26, 1788, New York became the 11th state to ratify.
◀ The last two holdouts were North Carolina and Rhode Island. Two conventions in North Carolina failed to ratify, but in November 1789, the state finally approved. Rhode Island voted seven times against sending the Constitution to a state convention. In May 1790, more than a year after George Washington had taken office as the first president (left), Rhode Island, the smallest state, joined the Union.
