After the Constitution was written and made public, the states had to vote on whether or not to make it into law and follow the laws of the Constitution. A huge debate started in America and people were divided into two groups, the Federalist and Anti-Federalists.

Anti-federalists

Anti-federalists were people who opposed the Constitution and thought that the Constitutional Convention should not have created a new government. Others thought the Constitution gave too much power to the central government and feared that a strong president could become like a king. They preferred that most of the power belong to state governments and a strong legislature, or lawmaking, body for the national government. For some Anti-federalists, the main problem was that the Constitution did not have a section that guaranteed individual rights. Many Anti-federalists were small farmers and debtors. However, some were wealthy. Some Revolutionary War heroes were also strong Anti-federalists, including Richard Henry Lee, Samuel Adams, and Patrick Henry.

Federalists

Anti-federalists were challenged by many Americans who believed that the United States needed a stronger central government and a strong executive branch. They called themselves Federalist. Most Federalists believed that the Constitution offered a good balance of power. They thought it was a careful compromise between various political views. Many Federalists were wealthy planters, farmers, and lawyers. However, many others were poor workers and craftspeople. Merchants also supported the Constitution.

Federalists and Antifederalists debated whether the new Constitution should be approved by the state legislatures. They made speeches and printed pamphlets advocating their views. The Federalists had to convince people a change in the structure of government was needed. To do this, they had to overcome people's fears that the Constitution would make the government too powerful.

One of the most important defenses of the proposed Constitution appeared in a series of 85vessays that became known as the Federalist Papers. They were published anonymously, but historians now know that they were written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. The authors of the Federalist Papers reassured Americans that the new federal government would not overpower the states. In one essay, Madison argued that the diversity of the United States would prevent any single group from dominating the government. The Federalist Papers were widely reprinted as the debate over the Constitution continued.