Events
1787First Federalist Papers are published
1788Nine states ratify the new Constitution
1789George Washington becomes the first U.S. president
1791Bill of Rights is ratified
Key People
Alexander Hamilton - New York statesman who ardently supported the Constitution; coauthor
of the Federalist Papers
James Madison - Virginia
lawyer; coauthor of the Federalist Papers; congressional sponsor of
the Bill of Rights
John Jay - New
York lawyer; coauthor of the Federalist Papers; first chief justice
of the Supreme Court
Ratification of the Constitution
The Articles of Confederation stipulated that all thirteen
states had to ratify any new constitution for it to
take effect. To circumvent this hurdle, the delegates included in
the new Constitution a section outlining a new plan for ratification.
Once nine of the thirteen states had ratified the document (at special
conventions with elected representatives), the Constitution would
replace the Articles in those nine states. The delegates figured
correctly that the remaining states would be unable to survive on
their own and would have to ratify the new document as well.
Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists
Debates erupted throughout the states about whether the
new Constitution was an improvement. On one side were the Federalists, who
favored the Constitution and a strong central government. The Federalists
counted among their number many of the wealthier, propertied, and
more educated Americans, including John Adams, George Washington,
Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton, among
others.
On the other side were the Anti-Federalists,
who favored a weaker central government in favor of stronger state
legislatures. Not all of them liked the Articles of Confederation,
but none of them wanted the new Constitution to be ratified. Generally
from the poorer classes in the West, but also with the support of
patriots like Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry, the Anti-Federalists
feared that a stronger national government would one day destroy
the liberties Americans had won in the Revolution. They worried
that the new Constitution didn’t list any specific rights for the
people.
A Federalist Victory
Several of the smaller states quickly ratified
the Constitution because it gave them more power in the new legislative
branch than they had under the Articles of Confederation. Other
ratifying conventions didn’t end so quickly or peacefully.
Riots broke out in several cities in 1787,
and public debates between Federalists and Anti-Federalists were
heated.
By mid-1788,
nine states had ratified the Constitution, thus making it the new
supreme law of the land in those nine states. Though the remaining
four states—New York, Virginia, North Carolina, and Rhode Island—had
Anti-Federalist majorities who hated the new Constitution, they
knew they couldn’t survive for long without the other nine states.
Virginia, North Carolina, and Rhode Island
Just as the final four states knew they couldn’t survive
without the other nine, the other nine realized they couldn’t thrive
without the final four. The Federalists had succeeded in putting
the Constitution into effect, but they knew the new national government
would lack legitimacy unless all the states were on board. Ardent
Federalists campaigned for the Constitution in the remaining states,
and in time, Virginia, North Carolina, and Rhode Island ratified
it by narrow margins.
