Eleanor Finch
The Federalists, supporters of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, believed that a new constitution was required to safeguard the liberty and independence that the American Revolution had created. They saw their most important role as defending the social gains of the Revolution. The Federalists, including big property owners in the North, conservative small farmers and businessmen, wealthy merchants, clergymen, judges, lawyers, and professionals, believed that a strong central government was necessary to face the nation’s challenges. They wanted the nation to have a stronger national government, with powers to pass laws, regulate commerce, print/coin money, engage in international trade as one nation, and settle disputes among the states.
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What You'll Learn
Federalist Papers
The Federalist Papers were a series of 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the pseudonym "Publius" between October 1787 and April 1788. They were later published as The Federalist Papers and argued for the ratification of the new US Constitution. The Federalists, or supporters of the proposed Constitution, believed that a new Constitution was required to safeguard the liberty and independence that the American Revolution had created. They saw their most important role as defending the social gains of the Revolution.
The Federalists were well-organised, well-funded, and had strong support in the press. They included big property owners in the North, conservative small farmers and businessmen, wealthy merchants, clergymen, judges, lawyers, and professionals. They favoured weaker state governments, a strong centralised government, the indirect election of government officials, longer term limits for officeholders, and representative democracy. They also believed that the greatest threat to the future of the United States was not in the abuse of central power, but in the excesses of democracy, as evidenced in popular disturbances like Shays' Rebellion and the pro-debtor policies of many states.
The Federalist Papers justified why the Articles of Confederation had failed and why they needed to be replaced with the current proposal. The Federalists believed that the problems of the country in the 1780s stemmed from the weaknesses of the central government created by the Articles of Confederation. They also promised to add amendments specifically protecting individual liberties, such as the First Amendment, which became the Bill of Rights.
The Federalists ultimately won the ratifying conventions by a narrow margin, and the new federal Constitution forever changed the United States. However, new problems soon emerged that divided the young nation's political apparatus into factions, and some Federalists, like James Madison, rapidly changed sides as new debates on the powers and functions of the federal government emerged.
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Federalist supporters
The Federalists, supporters of the proposed Constitution, believed that a new Constitution was required to safeguard the liberty and independence that the American Revolution had created. They saw their most important role as defending the social gains of the Revolution. The Federalists included big property owners in the North, conservative small farmers and businessmen, wealthy merchants, clergymen, judges, lawyers, and professionals. They favored weaker state governments, a strong centralized government, the indirect election of government officials, longer term limits for officeholders, and representative, rather than direct, democracy.
The Federalists were well-organised and well-funded, and they made careful use of the printed word. Most newspapers supported the Federalists' political plan and published articles and pamphlets explaining why the people should approve the Constitution. The Federalists also published a series of 85 articles in New York City newspapers advocating for ratification of the Constitution. These articles were written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the pseudonym "Publius" and were later printed as The Federalist Papers.
The Federalist Papers laid out the ideology of the Federalists during the creation of the U.S. Constitution. They argued that the Articles of Confederation had failed and needed to be replaced with the current proposal. The Federalists believed that the greatest threat to the future of the United States was not the abuse of central power, but rather the excesses of democracy, as evidenced by popular disturbances like Shays' Rebellion and the pro-debtor policies of many states.
To ensure the adoption of the Constitution, the Federalists promised to add amendments specifically protecting individual liberties, including the First Amendment, which became the Bill of Rights. The Federalists also argued that the separation of powers among the three branches of government protected the rights of the people. Because the three branches were equal, none could assume control over the other.
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Ratification of the Constitution
The Federalists, supporters of the proposed Constitution, believed that a new Constitution was required to safeguard the liberty and independence that the American Revolution had created. They saw their most important role as defending the social gains of the Revolution. They argued that the Articles of Confederation, which were generally considered inadequate, had failed and needed to be replaced with a new proposal. The Federalists included big property owners in the North, conservative small farmers and businessmen, wealthy merchants, clergymen, judges, lawyers, and professionals. They favoured weaker state governments, a strong centralized government, the indirect election of government officials, longer term limits for officeholders, and representative, rather than direct, democracy.
To ensure the adoption of the Constitution, the Federalists promised to add amendments specifically protecting individual liberties, including the First Amendment, which became the Bill of Rights. They also argued that the separation of powers among the three branches of government (a bicameral legislature, an executive official, and a judiciary) protected the rights of the people. Because the three branches were equal, none could assume control over the other.
The Federalists were well-organised and well-funded, and they made careful use of the printed word. Most newspapers supported the Federalists' political plan and published articles and pamphlets explaining why the people should approve the Constitution. They published a series of 85 articles in New York City newspapers advocating for ratification of the Constitution. These articles, later printed as The Federalist Papers, were written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the pseudonym Publius. The Federalist Papers remain a vital source for understanding key provisions within the Constitution and their underlying principles.
The Federalists ultimately prevailed in state ratification debates, winning the ratifying conventions by a narrow margin. The new federal Constitution forever changed the United States, eliminating the many problems brought on by the Articles of Confederation. However, new problems soon emerged that divided the young nation's political apparatus into factions.
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Strong central government
The Federalists, supporters of the proposed Constitution, believed in a strong central government. They wanted to replace the weak Articles of Confederation, which were generally considered inadequate, with a new Constitution. The Federalists were made up of big property owners in the North, conservative small farmers and businessmen, wealthy merchants, clergymen, judges, lawyers, and professionals. They favoured weaker state governments, the indirect election of government officials, longer term limits for officeholders, and representative democracy.
The Federalists believed that the greatest threat to the future of the United States was not the abuse of central power, but the excesses of democracy. They saw popular disturbances like Shays' Rebellion and the pro-debtor policies of many states as evidence of this. They also believed that the problems of the country in the 1780s stemmed from the weaknesses of the central government created by the Articles of Confederation.
To ensure the adoption of the Constitution, the Federalists promised to add amendments specifically protecting individual liberties, including the First Amendment, which became the Bill of Rights. They argued that the separation of powers among the three branches of government (a bicameral legislature, an executive official, and a judiciary, each with separate powers) protected the rights of the people. Because the three branches were equal, none could assume control over the other.
The Federalists were well-organised and well-funded, and they made effective use of the printed word. Most newspapers supported the Federalists' political plan and published articles and pamphlets explaining why the people should approve the Constitution. They also published a series of 85 articles in New York City newspapers advocating for ratification of the Constitution. The Federalist Papers, written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the pseudonym Publius, laid out the ideology of the Federalists during the creation of the U.S. Constitution.
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American republicanism
The concept of American republicanism was central to the creation of the Federalist Party in 1787. The Federalists, including influential figures such as Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, advocated for the creation of a new Constitution to enshrine the principles of the American Revolution and address the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. They believed that a stronger national government was necessary to safeguard the liberty and independence secured by the Revolution.
The Federalists argued that the Articles of Confederation had failed and needed to be replaced. They favoured a strong central government with weaker state governments, indirect elections, longer term limits for officeholders, and representative democracy. They saw the greatest threat to the nation not in the abuse of central power, but in the excesses of democracy, such as popular unrest and pro-debtor state policies. To ensure the adoption of the Constitution, they promised to include amendments protecting individual liberties, resulting in the Bill of Rights.
The Federalist Papers, a collection of 85 essays written by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay under the pseudonym Publius, articulated the Federalist position in favour of the Constitution. They successfully made their case in state ratification debates, with support from most newspapers of the day, and the new federal Constitution was ratified by a narrow margin. The Federalists also had the support of prominent figures such as Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, who favoured the Constitution.
However, the Federalists faced strong opposition from Anti-Federalists, who fought against the creation of a stronger national government and sought to uphold the principles of self-government won in the Revolution. The Anti-Federalists argued that a strong central government would inevitably lead to an abuse of power. The debates that followed ratification continued to question whether the Federalists were truly committed to the principles of the American Revolution or if they were trying to undermine them.
The Federalists' victory in the ratification conventions marked a significant shift in political beliefs and the creation of the first official American political party. The new federal Constitution replaced the weak Articles of Confederation and established a stronger national government with three separate branches to ensure no one branch became too powerful. This period marked the beginnings of American republicanism, with Federalists and Anti-Federalists debating and shaping the future of the nation through their competing visions of government.
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Frequently asked questions
The Federalists believed that a new Constitution was required to safeguard the liberty and independence that the American Revolution had created. They thought that the greatest threat to the future of the United States was not central power, but the excesses of democracy. They wanted a stronger national government with powers to pass laws, regulate commerce, print/coin money, engage in international trade as one nation, and settle disputes among the states.
The Federalists were supporters of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution and members of one of the nation's first two political parties. They included big property owners in the North, conservative small farmers and businessmen, wealthy merchants, clergymen, judges, lawyers, and professionals. They were well-organised, well-funded, and had strong support in the press.
The Federalists were successful in their campaign for a new Constitution. Ratification by 9 of the 13 states enacted the new government. A compromise was struck with Massachusetts, which agreed to ratify the Constitution if the Federalists would agree to add a Bill of Rights.
