Shays' Rebellion, Constitutional Convention, Federalist Papers, and the Bill of Rights

Shays’s Rebellion:

• Farmers in high debt complained to the government about lowering taxes, printing money, a better economy, etc.

• Daniel Shays: leads this group of farmers to rebel over the back pay they deserved

• The federal gov’t couldn’t help - therefore local militia rose up to put down the rebellion

• Showed that the Articles were weak; new gov’t needed

Constitutional Convention:

• James Madison: from VA, considered the father of the Constitution; wrote most of the constitution

• New Jersey Plan:

  • 3 separate branches

  • Unicameral legislature; House of Reps. only

    • Equal representation for all States (just like the Articles)

    • One state = one vote

  • Smaller states favored this plan

• Virginia Plan:

  • 3 separate branches

  • Bicameral legislature; House of Reps. and Senate

    • Representation based on population size

    • More people = more reps.

  • Big states favored this plan

• Great Compromise:

  • Bicameral legislature with two houses: House of Reps. and Senate

  • Representation based on population in the House of Reps.

  • Equal representation in states

  • “Connecticut Compromise”

• Three-Fifths Compromise:

  • The Northern and Southern states fought over whether the enslaved should have representation and be counted for taxation → Three-Fifths Compromise

    • For every five enslaved people, three would be counted for pop. and taxation

Federalists: 

• James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay

• Larger cities and states supported the Federalists for the majority

• Favored centralization, federalism, modernization, industrialization, and protectionism. They want a strong and large government, promoting growth. Separation of powers protected the rights of people (didn’t want a Bill of Rights).

Anti-Federalists: 

• Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, George Mason, James Monroe, Robert Yates

• Smaller states and minorities supported the Anti-Federalists

• Opposed the ratification of the Constitution (1787) because they believed it threatened the individual rights of people. Fought for the inclusion of the Bill of Rights. Did not want the national government to have excessive power and the need for a federal court system.

Federalist Paper #10:

• Focused on the control and effects of faction. Although there is no way to prevent a faction from rising, Madison believed that a large republic would be able to maintain them. 

Federalist Paper #51:

• “If men were angels, no government would be necessary” (Federalist Paper 51)

• Addressed the fact that checks and balances were a crucial part needed for the government. The separation of powers was also needed (three branches of gov’t). Though there is that separation of power, Madison states that there will always be a minority that will suffer injustice when everyone is “united by a common interest”.

 Anti-Federalist Paper #84:

• Argued that the Constitution was still weak. The Bill of Rights and other principles of the Constitution weren’t fully developed and done for the people. The Bill ensured the liberty for the future generations that would come. 

Bill of Rights:

• The Bill of Rights was meant to protect the rights of individuals and limit the government from having total power

• The Bill added protection over the Constitution when it was being ratified (reinforcement for protecting individuals’s rights, which many thought weren’t secure) 

• The Bill includes the first ten amendments

• Some rights protected are freedom of speech, religion, assembly, petition, and press. The right to bear arms, forbidding a soldier into your home, unreasonable searches, having a jury in court, protection of individual/state power in gov’t, etc, are also protected.