Ratifying the Constitution
What is the Bill of Rights?
The Bill of Rights: 10 of the proposed amendments intended to protect citizens rights. It protected citizen's rights. The 10 amendments set a clear example of how to fix the Constitution to fit the needs of a changing nation.
What is an amendment? How are they added to the constitution?
An amendment is an official change. The proposed amendment must be approved by two thirds majority of both houses of Congress and then ratified by three fourths of the states before taking effect.
Explain the similarities and differences between the Antifederalists and the Federalists.
Anti-federalists were not supporters of the constitution. They didn't want to have a new government made. They strongly opposed the idea. Federalists supported the Constitution. They were the ones who wanted to have a new government. They both promoted by making pamphlets to get people on their side.
Do you think the process for amending the Constitution is too difficult?
I think that it definitely too difficult because the needs of the people were profuse, and it must have been hard to think of all of those needs while creating one document.
From where did legislatures ideas for the Bill of Rights come?
It came from a compromised agreement between the Federalists and Antifederalists. They agreed to change the Constitution because the people wanted their own rights.
Why was it important for all of the states to ratify the Constitution?
It is important for all 13 states to ratify the Constitution because if that is done, nobody will be left extremely unhappy. The whole country needs to be willing to work together without too many disagreements.
When did the Constitution go into effect?
It went into effect when Rhode Island ratified it in 1790.
What were the federalists main arguments in favor of the constitution?
Madison argued that the diversity of the U.S. would prevent any single group from dominating the government. The federalists thought that the constitution offered a good balance of power between various political views. Many of these people were wealthy
What were the antifederalists main fears regarding the constitution?
Many thought that the constitution needed a section guaranteeing individual rights. Many were also worried that the constitution gave too much power to the central government, and that there could be a domination of the government. Most antifederalists were debtors or farmers.
What fears did the Federalist Papers address?
Some Anti-federalists were afraid of the government dominating the country, but James Madison reassured that would not be the case.
Why is being able to amend the constitution important?
The Constitution is meant to be changed because not everybody is going to agree on it. Also, the Constitution was made to start good debates, not to have everybody agree. There will always be someone who doesn't agree, and the makers of the Constitution knew that.
Explain the differences between the Constitution and the AOC.
The constitution put most of the power into the National government, where the AOC put most of the power into the states. There were three branches of government in the Constitution, where there was only one in the AOC. The legislative branch has many powers in the constitution, where in the AOC they only had a few.
What were the Federalist Papers? Who were the authors?
The federalist papers were essays supporting the Constitution. They were originally written anonymously under the name Publis, but then the writers came out as Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay.
Why were Virginia and New York important to the ratification of the Constitution?
There were many heated debates in these states over the Constitution, which made it even better that they finally ratified it.
