Ratifying the Constitution To ratify the Constitution, a battle would drag on for 2 years

Ratifying the Constitution  Up to this point, men had made compromises to get the Constitution written in 1787  It doesn’t take affect until the states vote for it, or “ratify” it  It would be a “Dogfight” to get the required number of states to ratify it

Ratifying the Constitution  Two opposing groups emerge  Federalists: Supported ratifying the Constitution  Anti-Federalists: Opposed ratifying the Constitution

Ratifying the Constitution

 A major argument between the two groups was the power between the federal gov’t and the states  Federalists had more people who argued better points however and eventually won  Anti-Federalists did get one thing added to Constitution:  The Bill of Rights!

Ratifying the Constitution

 By 1789 we have a President, a Congress, a judicial system and our modern day government  No official Bill of Rights until 1791

Ratifying the Constitution  The Constitution has been brought into many important Supreme Court cases

Supreme Court and the Constitution  University of California v. Bakke:  A reverse discrimination case as a white man was denied admission to medical school because so many spots were reserved for African Americans

Supreme Court and the Constitution  Plessy v. Ferguson: A case that allowed “separate but equal” facilities and promoted racial segregation after the Civil War  Brown v. The Board of Education: Overturned the above case and said that separate but equal did not justify segregation in public schools

The Constitution Today  The Constitution is still the law of the land today. It is considered to be a “living and flexible” document.  Why?  It can be changed (adding an amendment) as society changes so that it stays relevant and up to date

Other important founding documents  Northwest Ordinance of 1787:  It provided a process to admit new states to the union  It allowed for the creation of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and parts of Minnesota

Northwest Ordinance of 1787  These territories could become states when they had 60,000 citizens  Slavery was not allowed  Each new state was run by a governor, secretary, and three judges

Northwest Ordinance of 1787