Debating the Constitution Our Constitution

The Preamble and First Article to Our Constitution A New Constitution After many weeks of debate, the Constitutional Convention agreed on a new Constitution Ben Franklin wrote, “ I agree to this Constitution with all its faults.” The Preamble and First Article to Our Constitution

The Federalists After the Constitution was finished, nine out of 13 states had to ratify the Constitution People who supported the Constitution were called the Federalists. Their position was: Country needs a strong central government Government needs to be able to enforce the laws Some important Federalists were Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison

The Anti-Federalists People who did NOT support the Constitution were called Anti-Federalists. Their position was: Constitution weakened the states Upset that there was no Bill of Rights President was way too powerful Some important Anti-Federalists were George Mason and Patrick Henry

The Bill of Rights Many states would not support the Constitution unless a Bill of Rights was added Once 9 states ratified the Constitution in March 1789, Congress worked on creating a Bill of Rights to ensure people’s rights were protected These Bill of Rights are the first 10 amendments to the Constitution

What If the Constitution Stinks? The framers of the Constitution wanted the document to be relevant for all Americans, even into the future So, they made it very flexible by adding an amendment process