Question

Discuss the historical context of the drafting and ratification of the US Constitution. What historical events and circumstances indicated that the Constitution was needed at that time, and what were the arguments for and against its ratification.

Answer 1

Answer:

The desire for a new Constitution was borne out of some of the lapses of the Articles of Confederation which produced a weak central government.  In 1787, representatives from 12 states from the existing 13 states in the United States converged to draft the new U.S Constitution. Several deliberations were made to form a better and stronger system of government. However, two alliances were formed at that time as a faction. One was the Federalists and the other was the Anti-Federalists. The Federalists were led by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison. They wanted a sizable amount of representation in government among states based on their population.  

During the process of ratifying the Constitution, the Federalists argued that the Bill of Rights need not be part of the Constitution. They believed that with the addition of the Bill of Rights, the rights of citizens would be affected negatively and less protected.

The Anti-Federalists, on the other hand, wanted the same representation in all states. This alliance was led by Patrick Henry. They argued for the Bill of Rights and was against every move to establish a new Constitution, on the ground that, the constitution will give more powers to the National government and this will be detrimental to the citizens' rights.

A compromise was agreed on and after much debate on the issues of the Bill of Rights, the Constitution was submitted to the Congress of Federation in 1787 and by 1788, it had been ratified by most states.