Topic of Discussion – the Federalist V. Antifederalist
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Discussion 8-4 US History ~ Chapter 8 Topic Discussions E Lundberg Topic of Discussion – The Federalist v. Antifederalist Related Topics Chapter Information ~ Ch 8; 3 sections; 294 pages The Articles of Confederation Confederation to Constitution (1776-1791) The Constitution of the United States Section 1 ~ The Confederation Era Pages 234-241 Federalism Section 2 ~ Creating the Constitution Pages 242-247 Section 3 ~ Ratification and the Bill of Rights Pages 248-256 The Virginia Plan The New Jersey Plan Key Ideas Key Connections - 10 Major (Common) Themes 1. How cultures change through the blending of different ethnic groups. The Idea of a strong Central Government 2. Taking the land. 3. The individual versus the state. States Rights v. Federal Rights 4. The quest for equity - slavery and it’s end, women’s suffrage etc. 5. Sectionalism. Strong Central Government = progression or regression 6. Immigration and Americanization. 7. The change in social class. Political strategy to get the Constitution ratified 8. Technology developments and the environment. 9. Relations with other nations. The Balance of Power 10. Historiography, how we know things. Political Checks and Balances Talking Points I Introduction The creation of the Constitution entailed hours of debate and compromise, and even when it was completed, some delegates were unhappy with it. The task of fixing the ailing Confederate government was not complete yet; each state had to ratify, or approve, the Constitution. Basically, people divided into two groups, the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. Each of their view- points is worth examining, as they both have sound reasoning. 1. The Anti-Federalists did not want to ratify the Constitution. Basically, they argue that: 2. It gave too much power to the national government at the expense of the state governments. 3. There was no bill of rights. 4. The national government could maintain an army in peacetime. 5. Congress, because of the `necessary and proper clause,' wielded too much power. 6. The executive branch held too much power. Of these complaints, the lack of a bill of rights was the most effective. The American people had just fought a war to defend their rights, and they did not want a intimidating national government taking those rights away again. The lack of a bill of rights was the focus of the Anti-Federalist campaign against ratification. Questions to Think About Supporting Materials Who would gain political power with the ratification of Ratification by Maier the Constitution? Federalists v. Antifederalist: Ratification by Bailyn What type of sacrifices would states have to make? The Debate on the Constitution by Amar How much was this going to cost? Where was the representation in the Constitution? Discussion 8-4 US History ~ Chapter 8 Topic Discussions E Lundberg Topic of Discussion – The Federalist v. Antifederalist Related Topics Chapter Information ~ Ch 8; 3 sections; 294 pages The Articles of Confederation Confederation to Constitution (1776-1791) The Constitution of the United States Section 1 ~ The Confederation Era Pages 234-241 Federalism Section 2 ~ Creating the Constitution Pages 242-247 Section 3 ~ Ratification and the Bill of Rights Pages 248-256 The Virginia Plan The New Jersey Plan Key Ideas Key Connections - 10 Major (Common) Themes 1. How cultures change through the blending of different ethnic groups. The Idea of a strong Central Government 2. Taking the land. 3. The individual versus the state. States Rights v. Federal Rights 4. The quest for equity - slavery and it’s end, women’s suffrage etc. 5. Sectionalism. Strong Central Government = progression or regression 6. Immigration and Americanization. 7. The change in social class. Political strategy to get the Constitution ratified 8. Technology developments and the environment. 9. Relations with other nations. The Balance of Power 10. Historiography, how we know things. Political Checks and Balances Talking Points The Federalists, on the other hand, had answers to all of the Anti-Federalist complaints. Among them: 1. The separation of powers into three independent branches protected the rights of the people. Each branch repre- sents a different aspect of the people, and because all three branches are equal, no one group can assume control over another. 2. A listing of rights can be a dangerous thing. If the national government were to protect specific listed rights, what would stop it from violating rights other than the listed ones? Since we can't list all the rights, the Federalists ar- gued that it's better to list none at all. Overall, the Federalists were more organized in their efforts. By June of 1788, the Constitution was close to ratification. Nine states had ratified it, and only one more (New Hampshire) was needed. To achieve this, the Federalists agreed that once Con- gress met, it would draft a bill of rights. Finally, New York and Virginia approved, and the Constitution was a reality. Interesting- ly, the Bill of Rights was not originally a part of the Constitution, and yet it has proved to be highly important to protecting the rights of the people. II Concerns of the Federalists 1. The framers suspected that people might be afraid the Constitution would take too much power away from the states. To address this fear, the framers explained that the Constitution was based on federalism. Federalism is a system of government in which power is shared between the central (or federal) government and the states. Link- ing them- selves to the idea of federalism, the people who supported the Constitution took the name Federalists. Questions to Think About Supporting Materials Who would gain political power with the ratification of Ratification by Maier the Constitution? Federalists v. Antifederalist: Ratification by Bailyn What type of sacrifices would states have to make? The Debate on the Constitution by Amar How much was this going to cost? Where was the representation in the Constitution? Discussion 8-4 US History ~ Chapter 8 Topic Discussions E Lundberg Topic of Discussion – The Federalist v. Antifederalist Related Topics Chapter Information ~ Ch 8; 3 sections; 294 pages The Articles of Confederation Confederation to Constitution (1776-1791) The Constitution of the United States Section 1 ~ The Confederation Era Pages 234-241 Federalism Section 2 ~ Creating the Constitution Pages 242-247 Section 3 ~ Ratification and the Bill of Rights Pages 248-256 The Virginia Plan The New Jersey Plan Key Ideas Key Connections - 10 Major (Common) Themes 1. How cultures change through the blending of different ethnic groups. The Idea of a strong Central Government 2. Taking the land. 3. The individual versus the state. States Rights v. Federal Rights 4. The quest for equity - slavery and it’s end, women’s suffrage etc. 5. Sectionalism. Strong Central Government = progression or regression 6. Immigration and Americanization. 7. The change in social class. Political strategy to get the Constitution ratified 8. Technology developments and the environment. 9. Relations with other nations. The Balance of Power 10. Historiography, how we know things. Political Checks and Balances Talking Points 2. The Federalists promoted their views and answered their critics in a series of essays, known as The Federalist pa- pers. Three well-known politicians wrote The Federalist papers—James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay. These essays first appeared as letters in New York newspapers. Calling for ratification of the Constitution, The Federalist papers appealed both to reason and emotion. III Concerns of the Antifederalists 1. The Antifederalists thought the Constitution took too much power away from the states and did not guarantee rights for the people. Some feared that a strong president might be declared king. Others feared the Senate might become a powerful ruling class. In either case, they thought, the liberties fiercely won during the Revolution might be lost. 2. Antifederalists received support from rural areas, where people feared a strong government that might add to their tax burden. Large states and those with strong economies, such as New York, which had greater freedom under the Articles of Con- federation, also were unsupportive of the Constitution at first. IV Conflicting Viewpoints Brings Tension 1. Because of its size, wealth, and influence and because it was the first state to call a ratifying convention, Pennsyl- vania was the focus of national attention. The positions of the Federalists, those who supported the Constitution, and the anti-Federalists, those who opposed it, were printed and reprinted by scores of newspapers across the Questions to Think About Supporting Materials Who would gain political power with the ratification of Ratification by Maier the Constitution? Federalists v. Antifederalist: Ratification by Bailyn What type of sacrifices would states have to make? The Debate on the Constitution by Amar How much was this going to cost? Where was the representation in the Constitution? Discussion 8-4 US History ~ Chapter 8 Topic Discussions E Lundberg Topic of Discussion – The Federalist v. Antifederalist Related Topics Chapter Information ~ Ch 8; 3 sections; 294 pages The Articles of Confederation Confederation to Constitution (1776-1791) The Constitution of the United States Section 1 ~ The Confederation Era Pages 234-241 Federalism Section 2 ~ Creating the Constitution Pages 242-247 Section 3 ~ Ratification and the Bill of Rights Pages 248-256 The Virginia Plan The New Jersey Plan Key Ideas Key Connections - 10 Major (Common) Themes 1. How cultures change through the blending of different ethnic groups. The Idea of a strong Central Government 2. Taking the land. 3. The individual versus the state. States Rights v. Federal Rights 4. The quest for equity - slavery and it’s end, women’s suffrage etc. 5. Sectionalism. Strong Central Government = progression or regression 6. Immigration and Americanization. 7. The change in social class. Political strategy to get the Constitution ratified 8. Technology developments and the environment. 9.