The Federalists supported a strong central government and the ratification of the US Constitution, as expressed through the Federalist Papers authored by Madison, Hamilton, and Jay. The Anti-Federalists opposed increasing federal power and wanted to protect the powers of state governments. They worried the presidency could become a monarchy. The Constitution was ratified after debates between the two sides in states like New York, where Federalist 10 addressed the Anti-Federalists' concerns about factions.

1. Federalists vs. Antifederalists
Bellringer: What 3 Amendments from the
Bill of Rights would you keep and why?

2. Bill of Rights
 What 3 Amendments did your group keep?
 Why?

3. FEDERAL
 Questions
 What do you think the “federalists” believed
in?
 What do you think the “anti-federalists”
believe in?

4. Definition
 Definition: fed·er·al, [fed-er-uhl], adjective
 1. pertaining to or of the nature of a union of states under a
central government distinct from the individual governments
of the separate states: the federal government of the U.S.
 2. of, pertaining to, or noting such a central government:
federal offices.
 What, at this point of American history,
would the federalists and the antifederalists
be arguing about?

5. Ratification
 The Constitution and Bill of Rights had been
written, now the states had to ratify it
 The Federal Convention sent the proposed
Constitution to the Confederation Congress,
which at the end of September 1787
submitted it to the states for ratification.
 Ratify a constitution which limited their
power and created a strong national
government

6. The Federalists
 James Madison was a huge proponent for a
strong national government, so he, along with
Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay wrote the
Federalist Papers
 A series of 85 articles or essays promoting
the ratification of the United States
Constitution
 77 of the essays were published regularly in
newspapers
 The authors of the Federalists papers
wanted to both influence the vote in favor of
ratification and to shape future
interpretations of the Constitution

7. The Federalists
 The authors asked their readers in the first
paper:
 “It has been frequently remarked, that it seems to have
been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct
and example, to decide the important question, whether
societies of men are really capable or not, of establishing
good government from reflection and choice, or whether
they are forever destined to depend, for their political
constitutions, on accident and force.”

8. The Authors
 The authors used the pseudonym "Publius", in honor of Roman
consul Publius Valerius Publicola
 Authors became powerful political figures
 Madison became a leading member of the U.S. House of
Representatives from Virginia (1789–1797), Secretary of
State (1801–1809), and ultimately the fourth President of the
United States.
 Hamilton, who had been a leading advocate of national
constitutional reform throughout the 1780s and represented
New York at the Constitutional Convention, in 1789 became
the first Secretary of the Treasury, a post he held until his
resignation in 1795.
 John Jay, who had been secretary for foreign affairs under
the Articles of Confederation from 1784 through their
expiration in 1789, became the first Chief Justice of the
United States in 1789, stepping down in 1795 to accept
election as governor of New York, a post he held for two

9. Convincing NY
 The Federalist was written to support the
ratification of the Constitution, specifically in New
York.
 Separate ratification proceedings took place
in each state, and the essays were not
reliably reprinted outside of New York;
furthermore, by the time the series was well
underway, a number of important states had
already ratified it, for instance Pennsylvania
on December 12.
 New York held out until July 26; certainly
The Federalist was more important there
than anywhere else

10. Opposition to the Bill of Rights
 The Federalist Papers (specifically Federalist No. 84) are
notable for their opposition to what later became the
United States Bill of Rights.
 The idea of adding a Bill of Rights to the
Constitution was originally controversial because
the Constitution, as written, did not specifically
enumerate or protect the rights of the people, rather
it listed the powers of the government and left all
that remained to the states and the people.
 Alexander Hamilton, the author of Federalist No. 84,
feared that such an enumeration, once written down
explicitly, would later be interpreted as a list of the
only rights that people had.
 The matter was further clarified by the Ninth
Amendment.

11. Federalist Papers Today
 Modern approaches and interpretations
 Federal judges, when interpreting the
Constitution, frequently use the Federalist
Papers as a contemporary account of the
intentions of the framers and ratifiers.
 They have been applied on issues ranging
from the power of the federal government in
foreign affairs (in Hines v. Davidowitz) to the
validity of ex post facto laws

12. Anti-Federalism
 Anti-Federalism refers to a movement that
opposed the creation of a stronger U.S. federal
government and which later opposed the
ratification of the Constitution of 1787
 Led by Patrick Henry of Virginia, Anti-
Federalists worried, among other things,
that the position of president, then a novelty,
might evolve into a monarchy.
 Publish their own set of essays arguing
against ratification

13. Famous Men
 Famous Anti-Federalists
 Patrick Henry
 Samuel Adams
 George Mason
 Richard Henry Lee
 Robert Yates
 James Monroe

14. Ratification Debate
 During the period of debate over the ratification of
the Constitution, numerous independent local
speeches and articles were published all across
the country.
 Initially, many of the articles in opposition were
written under pseudonyms, such as "Brutus,"
"Centinel," and "Federal Farmer."

15. A New Constitution
 Ratification
 Delaware, on December 7, 1787, became the first State to ratify the new
Constitution, with its vote being unanimous.
 Pennsylvania ratified on December 12, 1787, by a vote of 46 to 23
(66.67%).
 New Jersey ratified on December 19, 1787, and Georgia on January 2,
1788, both with unanimous votes.
 The requirement of ratification by nine states, set by Article Seven of the Constitution, was met
when New Hampshire voted to ratify, on June 21, 1788.
 In New York, fully two thirds of the convention delegates were at first
opposed to the Constitution.
 Hamilton led the Federalist campaign. An attempt to attach conditions to ratification almost
succeeded, but on July 26, 1788, New York ratified, with a recommendation that a bill of rights be
appended.
 The vote was close – yeas 30 (52.6%), nays 27 – due largely to
Hamilton's forensic abilities and his reaching a few key compromises with
moderate anti-Federalists led by Melancton Smith. The Continental
Congress – which still functioned at irregular intervals – passed a
resolution on September 13, 1788, to put the new Constitution into
operation.

16. Federalist No. 10
 Read Federalist No. 10
 Discuss its meaning
 Current issues dealing with factions

17. Exit Card
 Answer in packet
 What were the anti-federalists concerned about?

18. Your Response
 Do you think political parties are dangerous?
 Answer in a 2 paragraph response, either citing
or disputing Madison’s claims in his Federalist
No. 10
 Be specific in your response