Articles Of Confederation Institutionalized Essay

After the American Revolution, a constitutional convention came together to create something called the Articles of Confederation. It was the document that would create the national government that would then unite the states as one. This new document did not last long. The Articles of Confederation was eventually changed to the United States Constitution. The Articles of Confederation created a single branch of government. This branch of government is known as Congress. Congress had the power to resolve conflicts among the states. Congress also had the power to make coins, borrow money, and create treaties. Congress could ask the states for soldiers as well as for money, although the states could reject their request. The Articles of Confederation

The Federalist and Anti-Federalist debate occurred over a span of two years, from 1787 to 1789. The Federalists supported the constitution, they simply wanted a stronger national government. Some of these leaders and well know Federalists were Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison. Other people during that time who were likely to be a part of the Federalist group were professionals, merchants and owners large quantities of land. The Federalists believed that the wealthy people of the country should be those who control the country; they did not believe that the poor commoners should have any say or power over the country. The Federalists thought that those whom were not wealthy were uneducated and unqualified to make decisions for the country. They believed that the poor had no right to make decisions, that they would not make rules to protect one’s property as they did not have anything worth protecting. James Madison felt very strongly that the government should protect one’s property. Then Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison wrote 85 essays in one year. These papers were written to try to sway people’s opinions to be the same as theirs, in order to have them also support the ratification of the Constitution. The names of these essays were Publius, these essays would later be known as The Federalist’s papers. On the other hand the Anti-Federalists were against the ratification of the constitution. Sam Adams, Patrick Henry, John Hancock, and Thomas Jefferson were well known as being Anti-Federalists. Small farmers and laborers were those who were apt to belong to the Anti-Federalists group. Their belief was that the government would have too much power. The Anti-Federalists were satisfied with the way the Constitution was. The Anti-federalists thought that states should have more rights, that there should be a Bill of rights. They