Between 1776 and 1790, major documents were being formed. This includes the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. The Articles of Confederation were adopted by Congress in 1777, however, the Articles of Confederation were not ratified by all thirteen states until March 1, 1781. By the Articles of Confederation, each state was only given one vote, no matter the size of the state. Also, a total of nine had to agree to create a new law, which took a lot of effort to achieve. Along with nine states agreeing, there had to be a unanimous vote to amend, or change, the Articles of Confederation. In the Articles of Confederation, there were no executive or judicial branches, only legislative. One of the benefits coming from the Articles of Confederation was the creation of Congress, although very weak at the time, had a few strengths, like declaring war. Also beginning during this time period was the Constitutional Convention, which created a split between the Federalists and the Antifederalists. On Friday, May 25, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Constitutional Convention was held in Independence Hall. The main, and only real purpose of this convention was to …show more content…
They were often represented by the less wealthy individuals. The well known leaders of the Antifederalists include Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, and Richard Henry Lee. In Virginia, although the population had a very strong Federalist presence, there was still a strong enough Antifederalist group who was able to nullify anything the Federalists did. The Federalists were generally made up of the wealthier population, who had more of the power. They also supported a strong federal government. The famous leaders of the Federalists were George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. The Federalists had a major influence of the press at the time, in daily