Constitutional Rights

Constitutional Rights — page 3 — A group known as the Continental Congress developed the Articles of Confederation These articles established the new nation’s first government The articles had weaknesses though They gave the Congress no power to raise money to pay its debts The Articles gave power to the states rather than a central government This led to problems The Congress could not force the states to obey its laws It could not create an army The nation’s leaders realized the United States needed a stronger national government to survive The Constitutional Convention Delegates from 12 of the 13 states met in the summer of 1787 They gathered in Philadelphia Pennsylvania The meeting was called the Constitutional Convention The delegates planned to make changes to the Articles of Confederation They ended up writing an entirely new document The delegates discussed ideas throughout the summer They needed to figure out how the new 6

Constitutional Rights — page 4 — government would work Heated debates erupted Eventually the delegates reached compromises They created the US Constitution The Constitution spells out how the United States is to be run George Washington was the first to sign the document Of the 55 delegates 39 signed Each state had to ratify the Constitution before it became law The Anti Federalists The Constitution set up a strong central government Supporters of the document called themselves Federalists Critics became known as anti-Federalists They PERSPECTIVES Limiting Power Virginia delegate George Mason believed strongly in individual freedom and states rights He criticized early drafts of the Constitution He thought that it gave the federal government too much power He suggested starting the Constitution with a bill of rights His idea was defeated As a result Mason refused to sign the completed document But his influence was clear The Bill of Rights later became part of the Constitution Mason is often called the Father of the Bill of Rights 7

Constitutional Rights — page 5 — 8 Howard Chandler Christy's 1940 painting of the signing of the US Constitution hangs in the Capitol US

Constitutional Rights — page 6 — believed the Constitution did not do enough to protect individual rights These rights include freedom of speech religion and the press They also believed that the state governments needed more control Delegate James Madison realized the need for a compromise He drafted changes to the Constitution He included ideas from Federalists and anti-Federalists The first ten amendments became known as the Bill of Rights The states ratified the Bill of Rights by 1791 The Federalist Papers James Madison Alexander Hamilton and John Jay wrote a series of 85 essays encouraging the states to ratify the new Constitution These writings are known as the Federalist papers They were published in 1787 and 1788 In the essays the authors criticize the Articles of Confederation and argue that the country needs a strong central government They explain that a federal government gives the nation the best chance to preserve justice stability and personal liberty 9

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