In Honor Of Constitution Day

Continue the Celebration!

On September 17, 1787, a majority of the thirty-nine delegates to the Constitutional Convention approved the document which they had labored over since May. Before the Constitution would become law, it had to withstand public scrutiny. Ratification of the new Constitution was not a foregone conclusion.

Citizens used newspapers, pamphlets, and public meetings to debate. A group called the Anti-federalists opposed the new Constitution believing the delegates in Philadelphia had exceeded their congressional authority by replacing the Articles of Confederation. They claimed the delegates in Philadelphia represented only a few privileged citizens. Another objection was that it gave too much power to the central government at the expense of the states, and that a representative government could not manage its citizens.

Those favoring ratification, a group called the Federalists, believed rejecting the Constitution would result in anarchy and civil strife. Federalists like Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay successfully countered most criticism claiming that a national government constrained by the Constitution posed no threat to the rights of citizens, in articles called, Federalists Papers.
http://thomas.loc.gov/home/histdox/fedpapers.html

The Constitution was finally ratified by the narrowest of margins, "two votes" in May 1790. (Source: National Archives. http://www.archives.gov)

Barbara McInerney, National Federation of Republican Women
Chairman, Americanism Committee