The Federalist Papers (1787-1789)

Study Guide

Key Terms and Events

Save

Key Terms and Events

Terms

Anti-Federalists

As opposed to Federalists, people that feared a strong central government, supported states' rights, and opposed ratification of the U.S. Constitution. Anti-federalists insisted that a Bill of Rights must be included in the Constitution to protect individual's rights against a powerful central government. Anti-federalists typically were members of the poorer classes, but also included patriots Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, James Monroe, and Richard Henry Lee. Anti-federalists strongly opposed the ratification of the U.S. Constitution in Virginia and New York.
Articles of Confederation

The document that served as the first official constitution of the United States from 1781 through 1789. The Articles of Confederation dictated a loose organization of 13 independent states, joined together with equal representation in a Congress, in order to provide for the common defense. The Articles proved too weak to effectively govern the young nation, however, and delegates meeting at the Annapolis Convention in 1786 recommended that a new convention be called to discuss revision of the Articles. SparkNote on the Articles of Confederation.
Confederacy

A confederacy is a form of government in which independent states are loosely joined, typically for common defense. Each independent state maintains power over the majority of its own affairs.
Federalists

As opposed to anti-Federalists, people that favored a strong central government, feared too much power in the hands of the masses, and strongly supported the U.S. Constitution. Federalists were typically members of the cultured and propertied classes, and included Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. The Federalist perspective was codified in the form of 85 essays that appeared in New York newspapers between 1787 and 1788, and later published as The Federalist.
Ratification

To approve or accept an official or legal document. Article VII of the U.S. Constitution states that 9 states must ratify the document before it became the official law of the land.
U.S. Constitution

The official document that is the basis of the U.S. Government. The U.S. Constitution was officially put into effect on March 4, 1789 and has been in effect, with some amendments, ever since. SparkNote on the U.S. Constitution

Events

Annapolis Convention

Held in September 1786 at the request of Virginia, this meeting of the states aimed to improve the uniformity of commerce. Only 12 delegates participated, including Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. Sensing a statewide agreement on the importance of revising the Articles of Confederation, this convention resolved to call another statewide convention in May of 1787. This convention would become known as the Constitutional Convention.
Constitutional Convention

Scheduled to begin on May 14, 1787 in Philadelphia PA, the Constitutional Convention progressed through the summer to establish a new form of government as described by the U.S. Constitution. Although the convention was called for the purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation, delegates from 12 of the 13 states (Rhode Island was absent) expressed an overwhelming interest in a totally new, and stronger, form of central government. Upon ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1789, this agreed upon form of government was put into effect and has operated as the government of the United States ever since.
Ratification of the U.S. Constitution

Article VII of the U.S. Constitution indicates that the document would officially go into effect upon the ratification of 9 of the 13 state ratifying conventions. When New Hampshire, the 9th state to do so, formally ratified the Constitution, the Constitutional Convention appointed a committee to begin planning the transition to the new government. Planning for the new government was underway even before Virginia, New York, North Carolina and Rhode Island had formally approved of the government plan.
Shays' Rebellion

Daniel Shays organized farmers throughout New England to protest legislation that increased taxes and demanded immediate debt-repayment. When the state legislature refused to respond, Shays and his armed followers closed the courts in Western Massachusetts in protest of foreclosed properties. The rebellion came to a head when Shays was defeated while trying to seize a federal arsenal of weapons in Springfield, MA on January 25, 1787. This rebellion demonstrated the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, and convinced many states of the need for a stronger central government.

Popular pages: The Federalist Papers (1787-1789)

Review Quiz FURTHER STUDY

Take a Study Break