Introduction
The transition from the Articles of Confederation to the United States Constitution wasn't a seamless one, and fixing the problems of the Articles of Confederation required a series of lengthy debates both during and after the convention. But one thing was certain, something had to be changed. Fifty-five Delegates met at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 to determine how best to adjust the existing document.
At the end of this Webquest you and your classmates will assume the role of a Federalist or Anti-Federalist debating on how to fix the Articles of Confederation.
Task
You will cooperate with your fellow Federalist/Anti-Federalist to create a poster board outlining your arguments for or against the creation of the U.S. Constitution. Once you have completed this task you will debate against the opposing party.
Process
You will first complete the following activities to enlighten you on how Federalist and Anti-Federalist felt about the Articles of Confederation and Constitution.
Part I
You will use the following websites to complete the Venn Diagram provided by your teacher, covering the strengths and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. The websites: The Great Debate and Anti-Federalist vs. Federalist.
Part II
You will visit the following website and watch the Crash Course video covering the constitution. You will then answer the 13 questions on the site about the video. The website: Crash Course History
Part III
Fill in the graphic organizer covering the Bill of Rights.
Evaluation
Chapter 4 Debate: Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists
Introduction
Teachers can use class debates to help students understand conflicting perspectives of a
past time and place or of a contemporary issue. This often involves dividing the class
into two or more parts and assigning each group a role. Students are then encouraged to
take on that role and argue their position. They need to argue the position they are
assigned, regardless of whether or not they agree with that position. Sometimes, teachers
may encourage students to know both sides of the argument and have the two sides
switch roles midway through the debate.
Objectives of This Debate
• Students will be able to list key problems faced by the Articles of Confederation.
• Students will be able to list how the new Constitution addressed those problems.
• Students will be able to explain key arguments of both the Federalists and the
Anti-Federalists.
• Students will be able to explain why the Federalists ultimately prevailed on
ratification for the new Constitution.
Background
Once the Constitutional Convention ended, the battle over ratification began. Federalists
supported the new plan of government, while Anti-Federalists opposed the change.
Americans from all walks of life discussed key issues, and papers printed and distributed
by both sides were widely read. Each state had a ratifying convention. Key states like
New York and Virginia ended up with very close votes for ratification after vociferous
debates.
The Federalists were able to win the day with better organization, better financing, and
the presence of key figures such as Washington, Franklin, Hamilton, and Madison. Also
key to winning over some Anti-Federalists was the promise that adding a Bill of Rights to
the new Constitution would be the first order of business of the new Congress.
Teachers can use this debate to make clear the key arguments on both sides of this issue.
A possible setting would be the Virginia ratifying convention. Students can even take on
the role of particular individuals who participated in that meeting.
Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists
|
Federalist Perspective |
Anti-Federalist Perspective |
|
Events of the past few years have shown the need for a stronger central government. Shays’s Rebellion is an example. The national government had no power to intervene. |
Yes, there have been problems, but one thing we do have as Americans is liberty. Why risk threatening that by changing our form of government? |
|
Our economy is weak. England is taking advantage of that weakness by dumping goods here. A national tariff would prevent this and help us develop more manufacturing of our own. |
Why do we need a new government? The present government got us through the Revolution and has handled the great issues of the day – such as how to handle western lands |
|
Our foreign policy is in shambles. Spain threatens the Mississippi. England refuses to leave forts in the Great Lakes. |
This new plan of government is not even legitimate. The men who met were authorized to revise the Articles, not scrap them! |
|
Our national government is broke and cannot raise revenue or an army. It can only request funds and troops from the states. |
AND, it took a unanimous vote of all of the states to amend the Articles. Now we are told the new Constitution will take effect when nine of thirteen states accept it. That should not be! |
|
Right now, factions threaten to take over state governments (such as Shay’s followers who have taken the Massachusetts government and are passing stay laws and printing more and more paper money). This threatens the property of other men. This is tyranny of the majority. |
States can handle their own economic policies. There is no way to have a national policy that will work for all states (some are more agricultural and some depend more on trade). |
|
Such factions will not dominate the national government because it represents such a large area with so many diverse interests. No one faction could ever take control. |
The new plan of government puts the president in charge of the armed forces. That is too much power for one man – a recipe for tyranny! |
|
The national government will be immune from anyone taking too much power by a system of checks and balances. |
The new plan of government has no Bill of Rights like many of our state constitutions do. |
|
For any nation to be great its government must be able to touch the lives of individual men – right now our national government cannot do that. |
The new government will be too powerful and too distant – just like the British crown was. The best government is the government close to the people – state and local governments. |
|
How can this new government be a recipe for tyranny? If that were true, our hero George Washington would not be a supporter. |
We are too diverse as a people and have very different cultures and traditions. If we give too much power to the central government, one section of our country will one day dominate that government and subdue other sections. That could lead to conflict. |
You will be evaluated based on your participation during this activity as well as the the three parts found in the process section of this Webquest.
Conclusion
After all of your research in this Webquest you should now be able to defend the Articles of Confederation and Constitution from a Federalist or Anti-Federalist perspective. We will now have our in class debate, please refer to the perspective chart found in the evaluation section of this Webquest.