Federalists and Anti-Federalists

Key Concepts

• The Constitutional Convention compromised over the representation of slave states in Congress and the role of the federal government in regulating both slavery and the slave trade, allowing the prohibition of the international slave trade after 1808.

• In the debate over ratifying the Constitution, Anti-Federalists opposing ratification battled with Federalists, whose principles were articulated in the Federalist Papers (primarily written by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison). Federalists ensured the ratification of the Constitution by promising the addition of a Bill of Rights that enumerated individual rights and explicitly restricted the powers of the federal government.

The Constitution

• The Electoral College• In what way was the Electoral College a

compromise?-Question Ch.9 Study Guide, II.4

How was slavery addressed in the Constitution?

• -in apportioning direct taxes and in according representation in the House of Representatives, slaves would count as three-fifths of a person (three-fifths compromise).

• the slave trade could not be touched until 1807 (at that time, Congress banned it).

Table 9-2 p173

Table 9-2 p173

In what ways did the Constitution seek to erect barriers against “mobocracy?”

• federal judges were appointed for life• the president was to be indirectly elected by

the Electoral College• senators were to be chosen indirectly by state

legislatures

What democratic elements existed in the Constitution?

• it was based on two main principles of republicanism- government was based on the consent of the governed and the powers of government should be limited

• the virtue of the people, not the authority of the state, was to be the ultimate guarantor of liberty, justice, and order: “We the people”

The Great Debate in the States

• Special elections held for members of ratifying conventions – Candidates—federalist or antifederalist—were

elected based on whether they were for or were against Constitution• Four small states quickly accepted Constitution• Pennsylvania was first large state to ratify• Massachusetts presented challenges, including

demand for bill of rights

Who were the Federalists and Anti-Federalists?

Map 9-4 p174

Federalists

• Generally lived along the seaboard• Generally wealthier, more educated, and

better organized than the Anti-Federalists.

Anti-Federalists

• Sam Adams, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee• Generally states’ rights proponents,

backcountry people, small farmers• Generally the poorest classes

Anti-FederalistArguments

• the Constitution was written by aristocratic elements of society and was undemocratic

• sovereignty of the states were being submerged• freedoms of the individual were jeopardized by the

lack of a bill of rights• loss of annual elections for congressional

representatives, the creation of a federal stronghold (later D.C.), the creation of a standing army, the omission of any reference to God, and the procedure of ratification with only two-thirds of the states.

• The promise to add a bill of rights swayed some Anti-Federalists

• June 1788 the Constitution was officially adopted

Table 9-3 p175

p176

What do the authors mean when they say, “The minority had

triumphed- twice”?• -a militant minority of American radicals and

engineered the military Revolution. Now a minority of conservatives (embracing some of the earlier radicals) had engineered a peaceful revolution that overthrew the Articles of Confederation.

What do the authors mean by “Conservatism was victorious?”

• Can the Constitution be considered both a radical departure from the Articles of Confederation and a conservative document at the same time?

The Pursuit of Equality

• Equality was watchword everywhere:– Most states reduced property-holding

requirements for voting– Ordinary men and women demanded to be

addressed as “Mr.” and “Mrs.”– Employers called “boss,” not “master”– Pretentious Continental Army officials who

formed Society of the Cincinnati faced ridicule

XVII. Pursuit of Equality(cont.)

• Protracted fight to separate church and state resulted in notable gains:– Anglican Church disestablished; reformed as

Protestant Episcopal Church– Struggle to separate religion and government

proved fierce in Virginia– In 1786 Thomas Jefferson and co-reformers won

with passage of Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (see Table 5.1).

XVII. Pursuit of Equality(cont.)

• Egalitarian sentiments challenged slavery:– Philadelphia Quakers in 1775 founded world's first

antislavery society – Several Northern states called for either abolishing

slavery outright or for gradual emancipation– Even in Virginia, a few idealistic masters freed

their slaves

XVII. Pursuit of Equality(cont.)

Revolution of sentiments was incomplete– Domestic slave trade grew dramatically– Most of North end slavery only gradually– No state south of Pennsylvania abolished slavery– In both North and South, law discriminated against

freed blacks and slaves alike

XVII. Pursuit of Equality(cont.)

• Why not more rapid changes:– Fledgling idealism of Founding Fathers was

sacrificed to political expediency– A fight over slavery would fracture fragile union• “Great as the evil (of slavery) is, a dismemberment of

the union would be worse” James Madison (1787)

– Nearly a century later, slavery did wreck Union—temporarily

XVII. The Pursuit of Equality(cont.)

• Also incomplete was extension of equality to women:– New Jersey's new constitution (1776) for a while

allowed women to vote– In general civil status of women not changed

XVII. The Pursuit of Equality(cont.)

• Central to republican ideology was:– Civic virtue—democracy depended on unselfish

commitment of each citizen to public good– Who could better cultivate virtue than mothers to

whom society entrusted moral education of young– Idea of “republican motherhood” elevated

women to prestigious role as special keepers of nation's conscience

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XVII. The Pursuit of Equality(cont.)

– Educational opportunities for women expanded so wives and mothers could better cultivate virtues demanded by Republic

– Republican women now bore responsibility for survival of nation

p179