Ratification
Analyze the arguments for and against ratification of the US Constitution
Bird's Eye View |
Having debated and compromised on key provisions of the new Constitution the only task left was to get it ratified by the thirteen independent states. Arguments over approval or disapproval of this new government would engulf the nation. Key figures will influence this debate in a series of essays that will be circulated throughout the states. |
Federalists
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Anti-Federalists
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Ratification of the Constitution
Ratification (approving) of the new government drafted under the Constitution of the United States became an action of continued debate and compromise. Changing the unanimous vote that was required under the Articles of Confederation, the new proposal required nine of the thirteen states for ratification. Final approval of the new document would be submitted to each state for its vote of ratification. By the summer of 1788 nine of the thirteen states voted to ratify the new Constitution. New York, Virginia, North Carolina and Rhode Island resisted but eventually ratified the Constitution.