“Wait, whaddya mean

we’re not done?”

-Geo. Washington

Article VII

The Ratification* of the Conventions** of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.

* Ratification

A fancy word that means the same as:

● Approval

● Adoption

● Acceptance

● Acquiescence (oops, another fancy word…)

**Conventions

These are formal gatherings of people.

People who are chosen by state legislatures

(By people we mean white, landowning men)

For the purpose of deciding whether or not they

should accept the Constitution as the new

governing document of the new nation.

Article VII

The Ratification of the Conventions of nineStates, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.

Here’s a problem

The people who wrote and approved the

Constitution were sent to Philly to do a different

job:

Revise the Articles of Confederation

The process starts Sept. 19, 1787

● Each state needs to hold a Convention

● Conventioners need to understand the

document

● Conventioners need to argue about the

document--and they do!

● Conventioners need to decide yes or no

about the document as a whole

Conventioners Split

● Wholehearted yes

● Wholehearted no

● The “Yes, But…” crowd

● The “No, But…” crowd

● The same happens with the general

population of the states as well.

Yes

Became known as “Federalists”

● Because they were for the federal

government structure

● Lots of them in Delaware, Pennsylvania,

New Jersey, Connecticut and Georgia

Yes, but...

Were usually also Federalists

● But they wanted to see some amendments

along the lines of guaranteeing individual

liberties

● Lots of people in Massachusetts were in this

camp, also in Maryland, New Hampshire and

South Carolina

No

Called themselves “Anti-Federalists”

Because they were against the federal

government created by the Constitution.

Lots of them in Virginia and New York and

Rhode Island

No, but

● were not always part of the Antifederalists

● Thought the Articles of Confederation were

too flawed to keep using

● But they had problems with this newfangled

Constitution

● Lots of them in all of the colonies

If you are keeping score at home:

That’s Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey,

Connecticut and Georgia who say yes.

Massachusetts says Yes

Maryland, New Hampshire and South Carolina

also say Yes

and that’s 9! Ballgame...sort of...

The last 4 propose that

● A Bill of Rights be added to the Constitution,

focusing on protecting the individual.

● This means attention now turns to New York

and Virginia.

● Both states had Federalists and

Antifederalists living there.o It’s on like Donkey Kong

How would you convince people?

Remember, its 1787.

No phone

No internet

No videos

No recordings

Just newspapers and letters and face-to-face

conversations

Newspapers win

● Both sides publish opinion pieces

● Both sides mount campaigns to sway voters

● Both sides wrote using pseudonymso Fake names that included:

Publius

A Farmer

Brutus

An American

In the end

● Virginia and New York vote to ratify the

Constitution in 1788o Wicked narrow margins though

● George Washington elected first president

April 30, 1789, and government is off and

running!

But wait!

What about North Carolina and Rhode Island?

NC ratified in 1789

● Fashionably

late RI ratified in 1790

● Fashionably

annoying