Federalists and Anti-Federalists

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Federalists and Anti-Federalists

• Whats the difference?

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Review

• Under the terms of the Northwest Ordinance of
  1787, new states admitted to the Union
•  
• A. Could not take part in presidential elections
• B. Were considered equal to existing states
• C. Were required to defend Native American lands
• D. Were required to allow slavery

Answer B
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TPO

• We will analyze the arguments for and against the
  ratification of the U.S. Constitution using an
  interactive cloze, pair/shares, choral responses,
  and a poster.

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Enter the Time Machine

• The year is 1787
• The Revolutionary War is over, and the United
  States of America is now on its own to decide how
  to rule itself
• Being a new country isnt easy
• The states disagree about what kind of government
  they want
• The framers disagree about what kind of
  government they want
• People are becoming frustrated and rebelling
  against the current government

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Enter the Constitution
Pair Share 1 - Will the states approve
the Constitution?

• At the Constitutional Convention, representatives
  from each state (except Rhode Island) begin to
  write a list of rules to replace the weak
  Articles of Confederation
• Most delegates want a strong national government
• However, they also wanted to have strong local
  governments
• After much debate, the Constitution was finally
  signed in September 1787
• It was then sent to the states to be approved
• But the story doesnt end there

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The Ratification Process

• The drafting of the new United States
  Constitution was only the beginning of the
  process to make it the law of the land.
• In order for this to happen, at least nine of the
  thirteen states would have to ratify the
  Constitution.
• The debate over ratification would split the
  political leaders of the time.
• People who supported ratification of the
  Constitution were Federalists, and those who
  opposed the new Constitution were
  Anti-Federalists.
• The debate over ratification of the Constitution
  would take place on the pages of the many
  newspapers and pamphlets that circulated in the
  country.
• Choral Response
• - How many states had to approve the Constitution
  for it to become ratified and be the supreme law
  of the land?
• What was the group called that supported the
  ratification of the Constitution?
• What was the group called that opposed the
  ratification of the Constitution?

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Enter the Anti-Federalists

• Some framers thought the Constitution gave the
  government too much power
• They argued that states should have more power
  because they were closer to the peoplewhat could
  a national government possibly know about state
  and city problems?
• Also, there was no Bill of Rights nothing that
  said what people can and cannot do
• Those opposed set out to campaign against the
  Constitution, arguing that it would create a
  government with so much power, it would just be
  like having a king again.

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The Anti-Federalists

• The Anti-Federalist papers were a series of
  editorials the put down the Constitution.
• The primary argument of the Anti-Federalists was
  that the new government was too powerful and
  threatened the rights of the states and their
  citizens.
• While most of the Anti-Federalist papers were
  written anonymously, historians are confident
  they have identified several of these writers.

George Clinton Cato
Richard Henry Lee Federal Farmer
Robert Yates Brutus and Sydney
Mercy Otis Warren Columbian Patriot
Samuel Bryan
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The Anti-Federalists
Anti-Federalists opposed ratification of the
Constitution. They argued that although the
Articles of Confederation needed to be improved,
the proposed Constitution granted too much power
to the national government. Some of the more
famous Anti-Federalists included Patrick Henry,
George Mason, George Clinton, and Thomas Paine.
Other Anti-Federalists preferred to remain
anonymous
Patrick Henry
George Mason
Thomas Paine
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SoDo You Agree?
Pair Share 2

• What do you think
• Is the national government too big?
• Do we really need a Bill of Rights?
• Whats better for the people a strong national
  government or a strong state government?
• At this pointwould you vote to approve the
  Constitution as it is?
• You have to wonder what the other side thinks

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Enter the Federalists

• The Federalists supported the Constitution as it
  was. After all, it was decided upon by
  representatives from each state
• The Constitution had a strong sense of CHECKS AND
  BALANCES, or a balance of power between the three
  branches of the national government and the local
  and state governments
• The Federalists wrote the Federalist Papers to
  encourage states to approve the Constitution

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The Federalists
Alexander Hamilton
Federalists supported ratification of the
Constitution. Madison, who had been a key figure
in drafting of the Constitution, along with
Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and others answered
criticisms of the new Constitution. These men
wanted to push the ratification of the
Constitution and to influence future
interpretations of the Constitution.
John Jay
James Madison
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The Federalist Papers
The Federalist, was a series of eighty-five
articles written and published between September
1787 and August 1788. The articles presented
arguments in favor of the new Constitution.
Although all of the articles are signed Publius,
it was well known the main authors were Alexander
Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. Hamilton
wrote the first essay in response to a series of
Anti-Federalist articles criticizing the
Constitution. Most of these essays were published
in The New York Packet and The Independent
Journal.
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SoDo You Agree?

• What do you think
• Does the national government work fine the way it
  is?
• Do we really need a Bill of Rights if everything
  is so well done in the Constitution?
• At this pointwould you vote to approve the
  Constitution as it is?
• Wonder what happens next

Pair Share 2 Continued
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Enter the Fight

• The Constitution needed 9 of the 13 states to
  approve it in order for it to become law
• Both sides (the Federalists and the
  Anti-Federalists) tried to convince people their
  side was correct
• After great debate, the states finally ratified
  the Constitutiononly if there was a Bill of
  Rights

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Enter the Bill of Rights

• While Federalists didnt think it was really
  necessary, they agreed to add a Bill of Rights so
  that both sides would be happy
• The rights would be added as amendmentsmeaning
  they were seen as official changes, corrections,
  or additions
• The Bill of Rights were based upon the
  constitutions developed by the states
• There were a total of ten amendments addedand
  they became known as The Bill of Rights
• Choral Response What did the Federalists agree
  to to if the Anti-Federalists would support the
  ratification of the Constitution?

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Who Was Right?
Pair Share 3

• Which side had the best argumentthe Federalists
  or the Anti-Federalists?
• Why?
• Does the Constitution really need a Bill of
  Rights? Why or why not?
• If you were alive back in 1787, how would you
  vote?

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The Result
Both sides in the debate between the Federalists
and the Anti-Federalists won. The Federalists
won when the Constitution finally was ratified
and became the law of the land. The Constitution
established the federal government as the central
authority. The Ant-Federalists won because the
Bill of Rights would guarantee the rights of
citizens.
James Madison presents the Bill of Rights to
Congress. While twelve amendments were originally
proposed, only ten were sent to the states for
ratification.
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Assignment

• In partners, create a two-sided poster
• On one side, create an advertisement for the
  Federalist position.
• On the other side, create an advertisement for
  the Anti-Federalist position.
• You must include at least two arguments made by
  each side.
• A picture
• 3-5 colors
• Use your notes and the handout as your reference

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Example
I am James Madison. And I am a federalist
Federalist

• Federalist ROCKS!!!!!
• We want a strong national government oh yeah
• We wrote the federalist Papers What

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Assignment

• In partners, create a two-sided poster
• On one side, create an advertisement for the
  Federalist position.
• On the other side, create an advertisement for
  the Anti-Federalist position.
• You must include at least two arguments made by
  each side.
• A picture
• 3-5 colors
• Use your notes and the handout as your reference

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Mastery Question/Closure

• Analyze the arguments for and against the
  ratification of the constitution by
• Stating the strengths and weaknesses of each
  sides point of view
• Explaining how each sides argument had valid
  points.
• Describing how each side communicated their
  message to the public and how that strengthened
  or weakened their message