1 Lesson 1D: Foundations of Political Parties - Federalists and Anti-Federalists

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Independence Hall, Philadelphia

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In May of 1787, 55 delegates from 12 states met in Philadelphia. Their purpose was to amend the Articles of Confederation. The meeting was held in secret. At some point, the delegates determined that a new constitution was needed.
Within the U.S. Constitution, the framers designed three branches of government, set up seven sections or articles addressing how the government was to run, and added an introduction or preamble. Over time, amendments would be attached to the U.S. Constitution as societal needs and demands occurred.

Video: The United States Constitution and Bill of Rights

Video transcript

all right here's a question for you

when's the last time you and a few

friends sat down and tried writing one

single document that would determine the

way millions of people over hundreds of

years lived a document that would

structure the government of an entire

nation yeah didn't think so lucky for

you fewer than 100 men took a crack edit

back in 1787 on behalf of the United

States of America hoping to write one

document that would contain in it all

the laws and instructions for how our

government should function now don't

worry once they had their final draft

they did put it to a vote there were 13

United States at that time and at least

nine of them would have to ratify the

Constitution meaning they formally

agreed to it

before it became official and now that

single document still known today as our

US Constitution remains the ultimate law

of the land the most sacred code we have

for how the government should look

pretty impressive right I mean no one's

perfect but hey that we're still running

things 230 years later means they must

have done something right now let's

The Articles of Confederation

rewind a few years back to 1775 when the

Second Continental Congress met in

Philadelphia besides issuing the world

famous Declaration of Independence that

gathering of delegates planted the first

seed of order for the new nation which

they hopes to defend from King George

that seed was a document called the

Articles of Confederation a plan for how

the new US government should operate

that powered the newborn nation through

the Revolutionary War unfortunately it

had a major flaw you see living under a

powerful King had caused the colonists a

ton of trouble so the Congress decided

to give the central government ours is

in Washington DC today very limited

power over the individual states nine of

those thirteen states had to give their

approval before the central government

could even pass a single law see where

this is going the weight of the states

overwhelmed the central trunk of

government and chaos erupted

in newborn America having gone from a

The Constitutional Convention

central government that was way too

strong as in the case of the king to one

that was not strong enough Americans

would need to find a balance especially

as new states joined the country in

coming years they needed a central

government that could hold everyone

together and so because gatherings of

delegates from all the colonies or

states for very long meetings had been

successful in the past our founding

fathers decided to call yet another very

long meeting in Philadelphia

Pennsylvania once again called the

Constitutional Convention and 55

delegates from all over the states

attended and their original goal was to

revise not destroy but revise the

Articles of Confederation but when they

took the pulse of the document and

thought it through together they

realized they'd be better off starting

from scratch so they torched it and in

1787 they put their heads together to

come up with something new and here's

what they decided the central government

would have more power over the states

but it would also be split into three

different sections called branches each

branch would have its own unique set of

powers and with the power divided three

ways the central government would never

get too strong the legislative branch

made up of two houses full of elected

representatives from the different

states would come up with proposals for

law known as bills the executive branch

made up of the President and his or her

closest advisors a group called the

cabinet would receive those suggestions

for law and either veto or reject them

or sign off on them turning bills into

law judges from the judicial branch

would settle any arguments over how

individual laws should be applied they

also reserved the right to overrule any

laws that violated the Constitution the

way that each branch puts a limit on

what the others can do is called the

system of checks and balances and as one

further limit on the power of the

central government individual citizens

are able to vote on their choice of

Representatives

for the legislative branch and for the

president in the executive branch

The Bill of Rights

now the delegates at the Constitutional

Convention knew that they weren't the

only ones with good ideas so they made

it possible for future Americans to make

changes or amendments to the

Constitution it would take a ton of

votes to approve an amendment to the

Constitution but even so the first

changes were made rather quickly in the

Year 1788 the Constitution had just been

approved in our central government met

for the first time the legislative

branch that we call Congress started

receiving suggestions immediately from

the different states on changes they

thought should be made of the

Constitution you see a lot of people

were still afraid that the central

government would be too strong of all

the changes suggested by the states

Congress voted to approve 10 of them as

amendments to the Constitution today we

refer to these first 10 amendments as

the Bill of Rights they are a shield

protecting you from mistreatment by the

government among other things they

guarantee you the individual the freedom

to believe what you want to say what you

want to own a weapon if you want and to

be defended in court if someone accuses

you of a crime without this Bill of

Rights or the opportunity to create

other amendments in the future who knows

if the Constitution would have survived

until today

Imagine that you were a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. Why do you feel the Constitution was an improvement on the Articles of Confederation?

The U.S. Constitution established three branches of government.

L1_Executive Branches Source: Wikimedia Comm

Digger Deeper: To learn more about the three branches of government, visit Ben’s Guide to the U.S. Government. https://bensguide.gpo.gov/images/Branches-of-Government.jpg

Taking a Closer Look: Inclusion

The United States Bill of Rights comprises the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. These amendments were intended to guarantee civil rights and liberties to the individual, and had been insisted upon by a number of states as a condition for ratifying the Constitution.

Although a Bill of Rights was adopted, the protection of rights and freedoms did not apply to all Americans. Native Americans and enslaved Africans were excluded. Further, women were not mentioned in the Constitution, nor did the growing number of free blacks receive adequate protection. Although many states permitted free blacks to vote, the Bill of Rights offered no protection against whites' discrimination and hostility. Subsequent amendments would be passed in order to extend the Bill of Rights to these groups. Today, all American citizens are afforded the protection of the Bill of Rights.

Think About It

The Constitution has been written. Now it must be approved by the states. Assume that you are a supporter of the Constitution. Write a 15 - 30 second radio advertisement that tries to convince members of your state’s legislature to vote to ratify the Constitution.

Presidential Election Process

The framers of the Constitution did not envision political parties. The Electoral College system originally stated that the electors would cast two votes for President. To be elected, a candidate must receive a majority of the electoral votes. The person with the second most votes would become vice president. Political parties had no role. However, the debate over the ratification of the Constitution led directly to the development of what we now call political parties.

Watch the video:

Video: The Federalists versus the Anti-Federalists

Video transcript

In September of 1787 the Constitution was complete and ready for ratification; almost,

gratification means to make something official by signing it, or voting for it

and to ratify the Constitution and make it the Supreme Law of the Land, nine of the thirteen states had to approve of it,

in the end; it took more than a year and a half to get 11 states to ratify, and nearly two and a half years to get all 13 to ratify.

During this time two opposing groups emerged: the Federalists and the anti-federalists.

The Federalists were in favor of ratification, they felt the Constitution was already complete as it was,

and we're in favor of a strong central or national government to keep the country running smoothly.

The Federalists were mostly wealthy businessmen living in large trading cities along the coast,

they included the founding fathers Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, James Madison, and John Marshall.

They explained how the Constitution would work by publishing a series of newspaper articles known as the "Federalist Papers", under the false name "Publius"

the anti-federalists were against ratification of the Constitution

they feared a strong central government would be too much like a King, and wanted a Bill of Rights to be added to the Constitution, that would guarantee people the freedoms they had fought so hard for in the Revolution,

they were less organized than the federalists and consisted of common people living in both the cities and the countryside,

some of the better-known anti-federalists include: John Adams, Samuel Adams, George Clinton and Patrick Henry

at this time only Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut had voted in favor giving the Constitution only five of the nine states needed to ratify.

The Federalists realized that to get the other states to ratify they were going to have to add a Bill of Rights,

after promising the addition of the Bill of Rights Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, and New Hampshire cast their votes with 9 out of 13 states on board

the Constitution wasn't ratified for the entire country, but did go into effect in those nine states

at this point the two biggest and most economically important states had yet to ratify Virginia, and New York.

George Washington, Edmund Randolph, and James Madison worked hard to convince Virginia to ratify,

while Alexander Hamilton set his sights on New York

a few months later in the summer of 1788, Virginia and New York officially voted to ratify the Constitution,

bringing the count to 11,

so North Carolina, and Rhode Island eventually came around, with 11 out of 13 states the Constitution was ratified and became the Supreme Law of the Land.

Let's review

the Federalists were for ratification, they felt the Constitution was complete, and they were for strong central government,

usually they were wealthy businessmen,

in contrast the anti-federalists were against ratification,

they were afraid of a strong central government, and wanted a bill of rights

they were mostly common people.

Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, James Madison, and John Marshall were all Federalists.

John Adams, Samuel Adams, George Clinton, and Patrick Henry were all anti-federalist.

in the end the anti-federalists one won out and a Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution.

Questions to Consider:

How did the Federalists view governmental power?
What arguments could you make to support this view?
How did the Anti-Federalists view governmental power?
What arguments could you make to support this view?
How does a political party system support democracy?

Try It

After the founding fathers signed the Constitution, the delegates had to convince the rest of the country that this document outlined the best way to govern the nation. As a result, two groups formed: the Federalists and Anti-Federalists.

Federalists

Anti-Federalists

Wanted a strong central government and weak state governments
Felt the Constitution was enough to protect individual rights
Major support came mainly from large urban areas
Key supporters: Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, George Washington

Wanted power in the states and NOT the federal government
Supported the Articles of Confederation and believed the Constitution was NOT enough to protect individual rights
Major support came mainly from rural areas
Key supporters: John Hancock, Patrick Henry, George Mason

Imagine you lived in the late 1700s. Which party would you support? Why?