The British are coming!

Once upon a time... after the colonies defeated the evil King George, they were now an independent and free country. No more rulers, no more monarchy. It was the jobs of the people to decide what was going to help run the country. The men compromised with what was called the Articles of Confederation. It was an agreement between the 13 colonies, which unfortunately was not very good... 

The Articles of Confederation did not give enough power to the government that was formed at the time. The states would have different laws, making it difficult for people traveling. There was only one form of government that was in charge, a unicameral legislature. The biggest problem was taxes. Colonists at the time were angry because they were going broke. No one was being taxed and there was no trading among the states, so there was no flow of currency for an economy. 

Shays Rebellion. What was it?

It was the wake up call for the government and made them realize that their current style of government was not good for them or their citizens. It was violent attacks by farmers who wanted their pay from the war, but due to the lack of taxes that was not possible. They would attack Massachusetts courthouses and other governmental property. 

This then lead to what was called the Constitutional Convention. Held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from May of 1787 to September of 1787. This was a formal meeting to help create the new order of government, leaving the Articles of Confederation behind and creating something new. 

Who was there?

George Washington                 Benjamin Franklin

James Madison                 Alexander Hamilton

George Mason                             Robert Morris 

Not everyone in life gets along, so putting 60 men all on a room together, there was bound to be disagreements and opposing view points.  

This lead to two different parties. The Federalists who supported the proposed Constitution, and wanted a strong central government. The opposing party was the Anti-Federalists who did not support the 1787 version of the Constitution, felt the government would be too powerful and wanted to look out for the citizens. 

Federalists were the supporters. They wanted a strong central government, and to not make the same mistakes that the Articles of Confederation had made. They believed in representative democracy and that the Constitution was supporting the idea of separation of powers and checks and balances. They wanted a fair and equal government and nation. Alexander Hamilton and John Jay were two key Federalists at this time. Them and other members wrote an 85 pages worth of essay demonstrating why the Constitution was good for America. 

Anti-Federalists did not support, they wanted the citizens in America to have rights and freedoms. They did not want this to feel like another England to them. They favored strong state governments, wanted to make sure that every state felt represented. Direct election for government officials and shorter terms for those members. Strongly supported the individual liberties and pushed for them to be a part of the Constitution. The main leader of this party was Patrick Henry while George Mason also was as well. 

At the Constitutional Convention the Anti-federalists were scared that if the government was given more power, it would become too powerful and as a result, attempt to control its citizens. 

The Federalists disagreed. They believed that the government needed to have more influence and responsibility than it was given under the Articles of Confederation in order to grow the United States into a strong nation. 

During the Constitutional Convention, four different plans were proposed for what the future of the government should look like. 

The Virginia Plan was proposed by James Madison and detailed a strong federal government. The plan included three branches of government: legislative, judicial, and executive. The legislative branch was broken into a Senate and House of Representatives who's seats were determined by state populations.