Classroom Resources By Topic
Article VII
Introduction
Ratification Debates and The Federalist Papers
After months of debate in the hot Philadelphia summer, on September 17, 1787, the Constitutional Convention finally adjourned and the new Constitution was signed, but it was not the law of the land yet. According to Article VII of the document, nine of 13 states would have to ratify (or approve) the new Constitution before it would officially replace the Articles of Confederation as our governing document.
When was the Constitution completed and signed, and how was ratification supposed to occur?
What were the circumstances and structure of the debate between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists? Who were these two groups? What were the principle arguments made by the respective groups?
Why did the Federalists ultimately win and successfully get the Constitution ratified? How did they have to compromise to do so?
Videos: Recorded Classes
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Ratification and The Federalist Papers |
Ratification and The Federalist Papers |
Explore Article VII on the Interactive Constitution
Read the Text
The Federalists vs. the Anti-Federalists
What were the biggest constitutional debates between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists? Scholars Jack Rakove and Mike Rappaport join host Jeffrey Rosen to explore those debates.
The Federalist Papers: Relevant Today? Bill of Rights Book Festival
Sanford Levinson, discusses his new book about the Federalist Papers. This is the fourth of four events of the Bill of Rights Book Festival.
The Anti-Federalists and their important role during the Ratification fight
On this day in 1787, the debate over the newly written Constitution began in the press after an anonymous writer in the New York Journal warned citizens that the document was not all that it seemed.
Big Questions
Classroom Materials
Explore Article VII Questions
Plans of Study
Article VII
The Drafting Table
Explore key historical documents that inspired the Framers of the Constitution and each amendment during the drafting process, the early drafts and major proposals behind each provision, and discover how the drafters deliberated, agreed and disagreed, on the path to compromise and the final text.
