About how the States approved the US Constitution.

1. “Wait, whaddya mean
we’re not done?”
-Geo. Washington

2. Article VII
The Ratification* of the Conventions** of nine
States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of
this Constitution between the States so ratifying
the Same.

3. * Ratification
A fancy word that means the same as:
● Approval
● Adoption
● Acceptance
● Acquiescence (oops, another fancy word…)

4. **Conventions
These are formal gatherings of people.
People who are chosen by state legislatures
(By people we mean white, landowning men)
For the purpose of deciding whether or not they
should accept the Constitution as the new
governing document of the new nation.

5. Article VII
The Ratification of the Conventions of nine
States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of
this Constitution between the States so ratifying
the Same.

6. Here’s a problem
The people who wrote and approved the
Constitution were sent to Philly to do a different
job:
Revise the Articles of Confederation

7. The process starts Sept. 19, 1787
● Each state needs to hold a Convention
● Conventioners need to understand the
document
● Conventioners need to argue about the
document--and they do!
● Conventioners need to decide yes or no
about the document as a whole

8. Conventioners Split
● Wholehearted yes
● Wholehearted no
● The “Yes, But…” crowd
● The “No, But…” crowd
● The same happens with the general
population of the states as well.

9. Yes
Became known as “Federalists”
● Because they were for the federal
government structure
● Lots of them in Delaware, Pennsylvania,
New Jersey, Connecticut and Georgia

10. Yes, but...
Were usually also Federalists
● But they wanted to see some amendments
along the lines of guaranteeing individual
liberties
● Lots of people in Massachusetts were in this
camp, also in Maryland, New Hampshire and
South Carolina

11. No
Called themselves “Anti-Federalists”
Because they were against the federal
government created by the Constitution.
Lots of them in Virginia and New York and
Rhode Island

12. No, but
● were not always part of the Antifederalists
● Thought the Articles of Confederation were
too flawed to keep using
● But they had problems with this newfangled
Constitution
● Lots of them in all of the colonies

13. If you are keeping score at home:
That’s Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
Connecticut and Georgia who say yes.
Massachusetts says Yes
Maryland, New Hampshire and South Carolina
also say Yes
and that’s 9! Ballgame...sort of...

14. The last 4 propose that
● A Bill of Rights be added to the Constitution,
focusing on protecting the individual.
● This means attention now turns to New York
and Virginia.
● Both states had Federalists and
Antifederalists living there.
o It’s on like Donkey Kong

15. How would you convince people?
Remember, its 1787.
No phone
No internet
No videos
No recordings
Just newspapers and letters and face-to-face
conversations

16. Newspapers win
● Both sides publish opinion pieces
● Both sides mount campaigns to sway voters
● Both sides wrote using pseudonyms
o Fake names that included:
 Publius
 A Farmer
 Brutus
 An American

17. In the end
● Virginia and New York vote to ratify the
Constitution in 1788
o Wicked narrow margins though
● George Washington elected first president
April 30, 1789, and government is off and
running!

18. But wait!
What about North Carolina and Rhode Island?
NC ratified in 1789
● Fashionably
late RI ratified in 1790
● Fashionably
annoying