Wednesday, October 17th

OBJECTIVE You will be able to

compare the beliefs of America’s first political parties.

DO-FIRST What is a “political

party”? What are the two

main political parties in our country today?

What makes those two parties different? Write what you know!

VOCABULARY Ratify: to sign and

pass a new law.

What is a Political Party?

What is a “political party”?

What are the two main political parties in our country today?

As we watch the video, be ready to discuss the following question: What makes these two

parties different?

Today’s Notes

In our lesson today, we will learn about the FIRST political parties in America—the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists.

Ratifying the Constitution

After 4 months of arguing and compromising, the framers of the Constitution wrote their complete draft of the United States Constitution.

But this plan still had to be accepted by the individual states. The framers of the Constitution agreed that if 9 out of 13 states ratified (or agreed to pass) the Constitution, this would be the new plan of government for the United States.

Disagreement over Ratification

Benjamin Franklin stated that the U.S. Constitution was a system of government that was “near to perfect,” and suggested that all of the framers sign their name to this wonderful document.

Unfortunately, not all of the delegates at the Constitutional Convention agreed with Franklin—many of them worried that this new plan gave too much power to the national government. They were worried that this plan did not protect the rights of the people.

The Two Dissenting Parties

From this disagreement, two different groups emerged: The Federalists and

the Anti-Federalists.

The Federalists

These were the supporters of the Constitution. James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay were

leaders of the Federalist group They believed this plan would create a strong government

that would unite the quarreling (fighting) states. They reminded people how weak the nation was under the

Articles of Confederation and encouraged the states to ratify the Constitution which would create a strong national government.

The Anti-Federalists

These were opponents of the Constitution. Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, and George Mason were

leaders of the Anti-federalist group. They feared that national government had too much power.

They believed that the states should be more powerful. They worried that Congress would ruin the country by

charging too many taxes. They feared that the president would become too powerful and start acting like a king.

KEY IDEA: Their main complaint was that the plan listed all the powers of the government, but did not list the rights of the people. The Anti-Federalists wanted a list of rights to be added to the Constitution, which would protect the people from the government.

The Solution

In the end, the states ratified the U.S. Constitution.

The Federalists promised the Anti-Federalists that they would amend (add to) the Constitution a Bill of Rights to protect the individual rights of people!

Check your Understanding! Read each statement and hold up ONE if

a Federalist would make the statement, or hold up TWO if an Anti-Federalist would make the statement:

“The Articles of Confederation were weak. We must create a stronger national government!” Answer: FEDERALIST

“We must protect the people from a tyrannical national government—we should keep power in the hands of state governments!” Answer: ANTI-FEDERALIST

Check your Understanding! Read each statement and hold up ONE if

a Federalist would make the statement, or hold up TWO if an Anti-Federalist would make the statement:

““We will not ratify this Constitution unless a Bill of Rights is added to protect the rights of the people.” Answer: ANTI-FEDERALIST

“Support the Constitution and you will create a stronger United States of America!” Answer: FEDERALIST

ACTIVITY: Body Outlines

Read through the chart that shows the beliefs of Federalists and Anti-Federalists. Use your activity handout to create a Body Outline of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists.

To complete this assignment, you must write a DIFFERENT belief for each part on the body outline.

FEDERALISTS ANTI-FEDERALISTSThe Thought Bubble should show me what a Federalist would think

The Speech Bubble should show me what a Federalist would say

The Hands should show me what a Federalist would do

The Feet should show me what a Federalist would stand for

The Thought Bubble should show me what an Anti-Federalist would think

The Speech Bubble should show me what an Anti-Federalist would say

The Hands should show me what an Anti-Federalist would do

The Feet should show me what an Anti-Federalist would stand for

Week One Exit Ticket

Work silently to answer the questions on your exit ticket. Assign yourself with HW#3 when you are finished!