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Mar 4, 2020 · The Anti- Federalists primary concern was that the Constitution left too much room for the national government to oppress the people. There are common themes to be found in the several writings of the Anti- Federalists that tell us what they feared most about the Constitution.
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This unit is part of Gilder Lehrman’s series of Common Core State Standards–based teaching resources. These units were developed to enable students to understand, summarize, and analyze original texts of historical significance. Through a step-by-step process, students will acquire the skills to analyze any primary or secondary source material.
Objective
Today students will participate as members of a critical thinking group and "read like a detective" in order to analyze the arguments made by the Federalists in favor of ratifying the new US Constitution.
Introduction
Tell the students that after the Constitutional Convention of 1787 in Philadelphia, the nation’s new Constitution had to be ratified by the states. The debate over ratification became very heated, especially in New York. This led to a spirited exchange of short essays between the Federalists, who promoted the new Constitution, and the Anti-Federalists, who put forward a variety of objections to the proposed new government. Today we will be closely reading excerpts from four of the Federalist...
Materials
1. Federalist Papers #1, #10, #51, and #84 (excerpts). Source: The full text of all the Federalist Papersare available online at the Library of Congress. 2. US Constitution, 1787. Source: Charters of Freedom, National Archives and Records Administration, www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters 3. Overhead projector or other display
Objective
Today students will participate as members of a critical thinking group and "read like a detective" in order to analyze the arguments made by the Anti-Federalists in opposition to ratifying the new US Constitution.
Introduction
Review the background information from the last lesson. Today we will be closely reading excerpts from four of the Anti-Federalist Papers in order to discover just what the Anti-Federalists’ positions and arguments were. Although the Anti-Federalists’ essays were written anonymously under various pen names, most famously "Brutus," historians generally agree that among the authors of the Anti-Federalist essays were Robert Yates, Samuel Bryan, George Clinton, and Richard Henry Lee.
Materials
1. Anti-Federalist Papers #1, #9, #46, and #84 (excerpts). Source: Morton Borden, ed. The Antifederalist Papers(East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 1965). Unlike the Federalist Papers, the essays by Anti-Federalists were not conceived of as a unified series. Thus historians have imposed different numbering systems as they compiled various essays; the numbers used here are Morton Borden’s chronology. 2. US Constitution, 1787 3. Overhead projector or other display method
Objective
The students will deeply understand the major arguments concerning the ratification of the US Constitution. This understanding will be built upon close analysis of the Federalist Papers and Anti-Federalist Papers. The students will demonstrate their understanding in both writing and speaking.
Introduction
Tell the students that now they get to apply their knowledge and understanding of the Federalist and Anti-Federalist arguments. They will need to select a debate moderator from within their group and divide the remaining students into Federalists and Anti-Federalists. As a group they will write questions based on the issues presented in the primary documents. They will also script responses from both sides based solely on what is written in the documents. This is not an actual debate but rath...
Materials
1. Federalist Papers #1, #10, #51, and #84 (excerpts) 2. Anti-Federalist Papers #1, #9, #46, and #84 (excerpts) 3. US Constitution, 1787
Aug 8, 2019 · On this episode, we explore the questions: How did the unique constitutional visions of the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists influence the drafting and ratification of the Constitution? And how should we interpret the Constitution in light of those debates today?
As Federalists emerged from the Philadelphia Convention’s eventual success in ratifying the new US Constitution, deep divisions remained among those who feared the Constitution was designed to destroy the democratic autonomy of the individual states that the confederation had enshrined.
US Constitution (1787) — The fundamental laws and principles that govern the United States. The document was the result of several compromises between Federalists and Anti-Federalists surrounding the ratification of the Constitution. The amendment process. Important takeaways.
- Thomas Jefferson was in severe debt for much of his life. While it is by no means excusable, I think that Jefferson kept slaves because of their ec...
- To get all 13 states to ratify the constitution they had to make compromises to get everyone to agree.I think the debates that are going on now are...
- southern states wanted slaves to count as people for population counts so they got more representatives but not for state tax purposes and the nort...
- Everybody of course wanted the best for their own state, so it was hard to get two opponents to make a deal. They all wanted the most power and rep...
On the question of ratification, citizens quickly separated into two groups: Federalists and Anti-Federalists. The Federalists supported it. They tended to be among the elite members of society—wealthy and well-educated landowners, businessmen, and former military commanders who believed a strong government would be better for both national ...
The anti-Federalists were adovocating for a weak, decentralized national government. This way, the states have more power and more rights. So they wanted a participatory democracy becuase that works best in small regions such as states.
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