The Convention said the Constitution would take effect when nine state conventions ratified it (Article VII). From the fall of 1787 the country argued about it in newspapers, pamphlets and speeches. It was the biggest public debate Americans had yet held.
Key idea
Federalists backed the Constitution. Their best-known writing is The Federalist: 85 essays by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay, all signed "Publius." Anti-Federalists opposed it as written. Writers such as "Brutus" and the "Federal Farmer" feared a distant, too-powerful government and the lack of a bill of rights. New Hampshire became the ninth state on June 21, 1788.
Why it works
Both sides were arguing about the same question: how can a free people have a government strong enough to work but not strong enough to oppress them? Madison answered in Federalist No. 10 that a large republic is safer, because it holds so many groups that no one faction can easily take over. Brutus answered that a free republic cannot work over so large a country, because representatives would be too few and too far from the people.
Worked example: The count to nine
Delaware ratified first (December 1787). By the end of May 1788, eight states had ratified. Which state made nine, and why did Virginia and New York still matter?
- New Hampshire ratified on June 21, 1788: the ninth state. The Constitution could now take effect.
- Virginia (June 25, 89 to 79) and New York (July 26, 30 to 27) were large and stood between the other states.
- A union without them would hardly work, so their close votes were watched everywhere.
- Massachusetts had shown the way through: ratify now and recommend amendments. Virginia and New York did the same.
Answer: New Hampshire; Virginia and New York were too large and central to leave out, and their votes were close.
Common mistake
Anti-Federalists did not oppose having any national government, and they did not lose every point. Most wanted a stronger union than the Articles but with firmer limits. Their loudest demand, a bill of rights, won: Madison drafted it in 1789 and it was ratified in 1791. Check: who pushed for the Bill of Rights? The Constitution's critics.
Read more on Teddy Rook Book: the guide to The Federalist Papers (all 85, with No. 10, No. 51 and No. 84 on a bill of rights), the guide to the Anti-Federalist Papers (Brutus, the Federal Farmer, George Mason, Patrick Henry), and the ratification debate, argument by argument, with the state-by-state votes.