We The PeopleOr How to Form a More Perfect Union

• Federalists were supporters of the Constitution• They wanted to create a federal system

• Antifederalists were opponents of the Constitution• They were not against federalism• But they wanted the power of the states to

be supreme

• Federalism is a system of government where power is shared between a federal government and state governments

• Antifederalists believed the new Constitution should have included a bill of rights• To protect individual rights against a

powerful government

• The Federalists were better organized than the Antifederalists•Most of the nation’s newspapers

supported them

• The Federalists’ arguments for ratification were summarized in the Federalist Papers • The Federalist Papers: a

collection of 85 essays written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay

• The Constitution begins with the Preamble• “We the People…”

• Then follows the main body of the document: which consists of seven major parts known as articles

• Added to the Constitution were 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights• To protect the

rights of the people

• The Framers of the Constitution wanted to improve upon the Articles of Confederation of 1781 which created a loose association of states• Therefore, they gave authority to the

people of the entire nation – thus “We the People…”

• The Constitution gives the powers of government to three separate groups, or branches: the legislative branch, the executive branch, and the judicial branch• This is known as the principle of

separation of powers

• In this Federalist Paper, James Madison explains and defends the checks and balances system in the Constitution• Each branch of government is framed

so that its power checks the power of the other two branches

• Additionally, each branch of government is dependent on the people, who are the source of legitimate authority

•Madison’s political theory as expressed in this Federalist Paper demonstrated the influence of Montesquieu’s Enlightenment idea

• To separate power is to divide power

• It is to prevent one branch from being all-powerful

• A tyrant can only exist when power is united in one person• By dividing power, tyranny is ended