1. Ratification of The Constitution ■Ratify- to approve ■Federalists vs. Antifederalists ■Antifederalists- were against the Constitution because they thought it gave too much power to the Federal Government, and not enough to the people and states. ■Federalists- supported the Constitution, as they felt is what a far superior system of government.

2. The Struggle for Ratification ■There was not overwhelming support for the ratification immediately. There were two main groups that were in opposition. ■The Federalists were supporters of the new Constitution, while the Antifederalists were strongly against it.

3. Federalists ■Key Leaders-John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton. Developers of the Federalist Papers ■They knew that a stronger Federal government was going to make the country stronger. ■Their job was to convince the people that the system of shared powers (Federalism) was beneficial to the nation

4. Antifederalists ■Those who were opposed or against the Constitution. ■Key Leaders- George Mason and Patrick Henry. ■They felt that the Constitution was taking too much power from the states and that there were no rights guaranteed for the people. ■This oppositional group would be key in getting the Bill of Rights.

5. Federalist Papers ■A series of essays that were written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. ■These essays were a response to counter the Antifederalist attacks on the Constitution. ■The articles explained the reasons why they should support the Constitution. It spelled out in detail how Federalism works and how the Constitution would function.

6. Battle for Ratification Article 7 Page 265 ■Many Antifederalists said they would not support the Constitution until a bill of rights was added for the people. ■The first 4 states to ratify the document occurred in December of 1787. ■It would not be official until at least 9 states ratified it which occurred in June of 1788. ■Rhode Island was the last to ratify it in 1790.