1. Federalism and Ratification

2. Ratification  After the Constitution was written by the members of the Constitutional Convention, it still needed to be approved by the states  This is called ratification  The Constitution would go into effect after 9 states ratified it

3. Federalists  They were in favor of ratification  To convince others three men, James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton, wrote the Federalist Papers  Argued for a stronger central government

4. Federalist Position  States serve in interest of the people and keep federal government in check  The Constitution set up a republic  Separation of powers

5. Antifederalists  They were not in favor of ratification  Lead by George Mason and Patrick Henry  They didn’t like the Articles of Confederation, but thought the new Constitution went too far

6. Antifederalist Position  They believed this new government really weakened the power of the states  They didn’t like that the Constitution didn’t have a bill of rights protecting basic freedoms  They also didn’t like that the President could be elected again and again  They argued that this was like a king

7. Ratification  Delaware was the first to ratify  Antifederalists hoped that Massachusetts would not ratify  Eventually all 13 states ratified in 1788, with Rhode Island bringing up the rear