Discussion – Confederation and Constitution
The drafting process of the U.S. Constitution (or the starting point of the setting process) started on 25 May 1787 when the country’s Constitutional Convention organized its first conference with a quorum. The meeting took place at the Independence Hall (formerly known as Pennsylvania State House) in Philadelphia, and the objective was to review and replace the existing Articles of Confederation (which formerly governed the country). The drafting process officially came to a close on 17 September 1987, when the proposed Constitution was signed and adopted (OpenStax, 2019). The ratification process, therefore, came into effect this same day (17 September 1987), even though the first state to ratify it was Delaware on 7 Dec 1987 and was closed on May 29, 1990, the moment Rhode Island (which was the last state to do it) ratified it. During the ratification process, specially instituted state committees/conventions (which were appointed by the residents) discussed and made considerations of the newly proposed Constitution.
Initially, to be implemented, the Constitution needed ratification and approval by only nine states. The struggle for constitutional ratification was long and torturous, leading to the formation of two factions and political parties with opposing views: the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists (OpenStax, 2019). Those in the Federalist Party or group favored the new changes to the Constitution, accusing the former document (Articles of Confederation), including lack of taxation power, inability to enforce a uniform currency, and the inability of Congress to control trade (Dougherty, 2009). Some of these Federalists included John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton. On the other hand, the Anti-federalists, like Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry, supported the status quo and attacked the new Constitution for reasons that it could create a dangerously strong national government. The Anti-Federalists specifically criticized the new Constitution for lacking a “Bill of Rights.”
References
Dougherty, K. L. (2009). An empirical test of federalist and anti-federalist theories of state contributions, 1775-1783. Social Science History, 33(1), 47-74.
OpenStax. (2019). U.S. history. OpenStax CNX. Retrieved from https://cnx.org/contents/p7ovuIkl@6.18:gMXC1GEM@7/Introduction
ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE
We’ll write everything from scratch
Question 
Discussion – Confederation and Constitution
Required Resources
Read/review the following resources for this activity:
- Textbook: Chapters 7, 8
- Lesson
- Link (website): Articles of Confederation (1777)(Links to an external site.)
- Minimum of 1 scholarly source (in addition to the textbook)
Initial Post
For the initial post, address the following:
- Pick two (2) issues of the Articles of Confederation and describe the main problems that the United States was faced with under the Federation government.
- Analyze two major debates (see textbook Section 7.4) by which the Constitution was created in the summer of 1787.
Then, address one (1) of the following to your initial post:
- Discuss the ratification process of the Constitution of 1787.
- How did ratification lead to the formation of America’s first two political parties, the Federalists and Anti-Federalist?
- What were the major differences between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, and who were the best-known members of each party?
Follow-Up Posts
Compare your selections and analysis of those selections with those of your peers. If they chose a different perspective, examine how yours are similar and/or different. If they chose the same perspective, build on their posts by providing additional information about the events that you have not already noted in your own post.