Jennette 1 Bradley Jennette Mr. Hellems 14 September 2011 AP US History Pro Federalists I.

Historical Evidence supporting your position from American History between 1781-1800 A. Federalists Party 1. 2. One of first two political parties Supported a federal system of state governments guided by a strong

national government (Federalist Party) 3. 4. Led by Alexander Hamilton Hamiltons Plan a) Congress funds the large national debt by redeeming war bonds

and securities at face value and assuming payment of the state debts (Federalist Party) b) Proposed the charter of a national bank that would handle

government funds and issue a uniform currency (Federalist Party) c) Argued for high protective tariffs to help pay for the debt funding

schemes and promote domestic manufacturing (Federalist Party) B. The government under the Articles of Confederation 1. Congress lacked commerce and tax powers

Jennette 2 2. By 1784 Congress so divided, it defeated an amendment that would enable

it to regulate commerce, foreign and domestic and to levy duties on imports and exports (Levy 540) C. A Need for a Change 1. Men who defended state sovereignty conceded the necessity of a

convention by 1787 (Levy 541) 2. 541) 3. Constitutional Convention in 1787 a) b) c) II. Agreed on abandoning the Articles of Confederation (Levy 542) Wanted to write a new constitution Constitution would be supreme and consist of 3 branches Luther Martin admitted congress was weak, contemptibly weak, (Levy

Shortcomings or Weaknesses of the opposite factions perspective A. Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation 1. Failed because its central government did not operate directly on

individuals within its sphere of authority (Levy 539) 2. Weaknesses a) b) c) 3. In international affairs (Levy 541) Ability to enforce the peace treaty (Levy 541) Financial crisis (Levy 541)

Failed mainly because there was no way to force the states to fulfill their

obligations or to obey the exercise of such powers as congress did possess B. Anti-Federalists and the Constitution

Jennette 3 1. 2. Proposed no viable alternative to the Constitution (Anti-Federalists) Wanted to allow states to be governed under the Articles of Confederation

(Anti-Federalists) 3. Allow states to control their own destinies with a loosely organized union

(Anti-Federalists) C. Anti-federalists say Constitution gives too much power to federal government 1. 2. 3. 4. Powers are limited System of checks and balances (Barber 342) No one branch can overpower another Require each branch to have a hand in the others functions (Barber 342)

Jennette 4 Works Cited

"Anti-Federalists." American Government. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 11 Sept. 2011. Barber, Sotirios A. "Checks and Balances." Encyclopedia of the American Constitution. Ed. Leonard W. Levy and Kenneth L. Karst. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2000. 342-343. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 10 Sep. 2011. "Federalist Party." American Government. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 11 Sept. 2011.

Levy, Lenard W. "Constitutional History, 17761789." Encyclopedia of the American Constitution. Ed. Leonard W. Levy and Kenneth L. Karst. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2000. 536-546. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 11 Sep. 2011.