The federalist papers
These essays were written by prominent Anti-Federalists under pseudonyms such as “Brutus” and “Cato.” Immediately after the Constitution was proposed, opponents began to attack the document via essays in newspapers. Without assurances for individual freedoms through a Bill of Rights, large states such as New York and Virginia refused to ratify the Constitution. In addition, states’ rights would be severely diminished. With such power, individual freedoms could easily be squashed. Some argued the powers given were greater than even Britain had over the colonies. This faction generally thought this new form of government would give the federal government too much power. The new Constitution had many opponents, known as Anti-Federalists.
#The federalist papers series#
The Federalist Papers were a series of essays written and published to defend the new Constitution and convince its detractors to ratify it. In order to help defend the new Constitution a few of the greatest minds of the day combined forces to convince citizens of the document’s purpose. Many states had reservations over the new Constitution, including one of the biggest at the time: New York. Before it could go into effect, nine of the thirteen states needed to ratify the document. This crisis led to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 where the new Constitution of the United States was proposed. In addition, Shays’ Rebellion also highlighted the weakness of the Articles, when the federal government was powerless to put down an uprising of rural Massachusetts citizens. There was no better example of this than the inability of the United States to pressure the British to vacate their forts on the frontier as promised in the 1783 Treaty of Paris (it was not until Jay’s Treaty of 1794 that the British finally left). In all these cases, the federal government had to rely on the states, an arrangement that left the United States weak. The federal government could not raise an army or navy, raise taxes, nor regulate interstate or foreign trade. It quickly became apparent that the Articles of Confederation drastically limited the power of the federal government. This government was created by the Articles of Confederation that had been ratified by all 13 states during the revolution. Just what are the Federalist Papers and what was their purpose?įollowing the American Revolution the new American nation set forth under a new government. One of the most important among them are the Federalist Papers. The beginning of the United States is littered with influential documents that have stood for centuries.