Constitutional Convention Dbq

History is fraught with examples of governments and principles which, in their infancy, were unable to escape controversy and therefore have become the subjects of much political and academic discourse. The Constitutional Convention, convened by the early United States in 1786, is one such example of this phenomena. With two distinct sides arguing very different point, the Constitutional Convention set the stage whereby the longest-lasting written government in the history of the earth would be both drafted and implemented. The Constitutional Convention balanced the desires of both the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists in order to draft, amend, and ratify the Constitution of the United States of America.
At its core, the Constitutional

These individuals believed that a federal government with the ability to raise taxes, support an army, and regulate trade between the states, as well as settle interstate disputes, would be good for the nation and assist the country in becoming a successful, competitive nation. The Federalists believed strongly that a powerful federal government was crucial to the continued existence of the country and its ability to develop into a country of merit. As mentioned in Federalist Paper XV, “It must in truth be acknowledged that… they in general appear to harmonize in this sentiment, at least, that there are material imperfections in our national system, and that something is necessary to be done to rescue us from impending anarchy” (Hamilton et. al. 1787). This quote captures the idea that the Federalists believed that the Articles of Confederation were inadequate as a system by which to establish a confederation of states and that ultimately a government which operated using the Articles of Confederation as their granting authority was doomed to fail. Therefore, the Federalists believed that a Constitution was critical for the future of the

Therefore, the Anti-Federalists purported a government with a weak central government which was to be used solely for the purpose of foreign affairs, foreign trade, and similar matters while the states would be left to govern their territories and their citizens as they saw best. This form of government would have created a federation of states, similar to the government created by the Articles of Confederation, with a marginal increase in the power of the federal government. The Anti-Federalists believed that any power which was exercised by the federal government would need to be in writing and the criteria whereby the federal government could use these powers would also need to be in writing. This school of thought led to the inclusion of enumerated powers in the Constitution. The desires of the Anti-Federalists, as stated by Gordon Lloyd, were, “… Congress was limited to powers expressly granted, the states qua states were represented equally regardless of the size of their population, and the amending of [the constitution] required the unanimous consent of the state legislatures”