The Constitution

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The Constitution of the United States was created on September 17, 1787, but not everyone agreed that it should become the law of the land. Authors of the Constitution, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, published The Federalist Papers to promote ratification of the Constitution by the States. The Federalist were committed to ensuring the Constitution was ratified. However, they were not without opposition. The Anti-Federalist opposed the Constitution and believed that it would cause the new union to fail. Anti-Federalist were politicians and businessmen such as George Mason, Patrick Henry and John Winthrop, but there were many farmers and common people among the group. Their primary objections to the Constitution was that it weakened the State governments, that it lacked a Bill of Rights and that it protected the wealthy at the expense of ordinary Americans. State Governments Anti-Federalist believed that a strong federal government would weaken or destroy the current state governments. As summarized in one Anti-Federalist essay, most Americans believed the Articles of the Confederation simply needed to be revised and that “not one man in ten thousand in the United States, till within these ten or twelve days, had an idea that the old ship was to be destroyed” (The Federal Farmer, 1787). They believed that the Constitution was not needed and as stated by George Mason (1788) that it was “calculated to annihilate totally the state governments” (pp.1). Mason believed that two government could not coexist and that one would destroy the other. He also warned that individuals would not submit to taxation by two governments. Federalist believed that a strong federal government was essential to establish foreign policy a... ... middle of paper ... ...protect the Liberty of all citizens that any State would be able to do alone. Conclusion Of the 55 delegates sent to the Constitutional Convention, only 39 signed the completed document. Some did not even stay through the entire event because they felt it was headed in a direction that they could not support. These men had different reasons for their objections, some of which are discussed in this paper, but most importantly, they felt that the Constitution would threaten Liberty rather than secure it. The ratification of the Constitution was an essential first step to secure and stabilize this new national, but the voices and views of the Anti-Federalist were also very important. The first amendments to the Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, were due in much part to satisfy those voices and established many of the rights that we still hold dear today.

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