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Articles of Confederation
First written Constitution of the United States, it was ratified on March 1, 1781. States were independent, and the central government lacked the ability to levy taxes and regulate commerce. The Anti-Feds believed in the Articles of Confederation because they believed power belonged to the state and local governments.The Articles of Confederation ended up failing due to not enough power given to the central government. -
Three Fifths Compromise
The Three Fifths Compromise was a compromise proposed by James Wilson. It was a compromise between the North and South on how to count slaves for representation in the House, and taxes. This allowed southern slave holding states to hold slaves as 3/5 of the population. -
Federal Farmer 1
Anti-Federalist Farmer agreed that the first constitution (Articles of Confederation) was problematic but thought the Constitution was going to take peoples individual rights. Also he thought the Constitution would consolidate the "13" states into one whole -
Checks and Balances
Checks and Balances is a system developed to ensure that one branch does not obtain to much power. This system divides power between 3 branches. Federalists thought checks and balances would limit the government. The Anti-Feds thought differently -
Constitutional Convention
Delegates from various states met in Philadelphia. Delegates began to write a list of rules to replace the weak Articles of Confederation. Most of the delegates wanted a strong national government, but also strong local government. The Anti-Feds opposed the Constitution because they believed that the power belonged to the state and local governments. The Constitution was signed in September 1787. -
The Great Compromise
The Great Compromise was an agreement between large and small states regarding how much power the states would have. Also the Great Compromise was centered to find out how many representatives each state should have. -
The Federalists Papers
Series of 85 essays written by Federalists, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay. The Federalists Papers were written to gain "public and political support" for the new, ratified, Constitution. George Washington helped get these papers in the public eye. -
First Presidential Election
January 7, 1789, the first presidential election in America is held. Only white men who owned property were allowed to vote. There was high expectancy that George Washington would win. -
George Washington Elected
George Washington is elected to be the first president of the United States. Washington was a favoring choice with 69 electoral votes. Washington was sworn in on April 30th, 1789 -
Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments to the Constitution. It states our rights in relation to the government. Federalists argued that the Constitution did not need a Bill of Rights. The Federalists thought the Constitution was sufficient to protect individual rights. The Anti-Federalists did not think so, and thought the Constitution needed a Bill of Rights to ensure our rights.
