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Bill Of Rights Dbq

862 Words4 Pages

The constitution was signed and sent out to the states in 1787, but was not ratified until 1788. During this time in the states the constitution caused a great deal of controversy. While some, the Federalists, believed that a constitution is exactly what was needed, others, the Anti-Federalists, felt that a constitution severely needed a bill of rights. There are many reasons a bill of rights was included in the constitution. Although it was not in the first copy, it was promised to be in the next one if nine states would ratify it. The Anti-Federalists also believed that a constitution without a bill of rights would give excessive power to the federal government over individual states and the people. Also there was fear that a constitution …show more content…

“Federalists argued that the Constitution did not need a bill of rights, because the people and the states kept any powers not given to the federal government.” (http://www.billofrightsinstitute.org/founding-documents/bill-of-rights/). This quote means that anything the federal government does not control, the states would control. An example of this would be the Tenth Amendment, which is anything that is not controlled by the federal government went to the control of the state. The southern states pre-civil war favored this amendment because it gave them the control they wanted over slavery. The concept of slavery being taken away as a right led to the Southern states seceding, becoming a “country” of their own. They felt the North was not listening to them, and ignoring their rights clearly listed as an amendment. This amendment was included to gain the Southern states ratification of the constitution which ultimately led to the Civil War. The state having this type of power caused the Federalists to feel a bill of rights was redundant, but Anti-Federalists did not feel that it was written clear enough. They were not reassured. A bill of rights was added to ensure that the federal government would not have too much power over

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