Should The Articles Of Confederation Refute The Constitution?
Although the Articles of Confederation successfully steered fledgling America through the Revolutionary War, in peacetime society its flaws in unifying the country became increasingly clear. Largely thanks to the insistence of Alexander Hamilton, a delegation came together in May of 1787 to either revise the Articles or create a new government. With George Washington as president of the Constitutional Convention, the delegates drafted the Constitution by September, leaving the states with the responsibility of ratifying. Although Virginia had been heavily influential in the formation of the Constitution, with delegates such as James Madison actually proposing a full plan for the new American government, many of Virginia’s prominent statesmen
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However, the historical fact remains that Virginia did accept the constitution, and during a time in which ratification was not a foregone conclusion. The success of the Federalist movement in Virginia begs the question, were the writings and actions of the Anti-Federalists indelibly relevant to the course of American history? I argue that the answer is unquestionably yes, for while they did not successfully refute the Federalist cause, they created a space for the address of their own concerns in the push for the Bill of Rights. The intensity of Anti-Federalist fervor and complexity of its concerns made the issue of forming a bill of rights even more pressing for the founding fathers. Thus, in its formation, the Virginia Anti-Federalist movement achieved success in its own right. After the war ended in 1783, while statesmen across America saw a need for a new system of government, many prominent Virginians were content with the idea of revising the Articles of Confederation. These Articles had provided a framework to hold thirteen rebelling colonies together during the American Revolution. However, after the
However, the historical fact remains that Virginia did accept the constitution, and during a time in which ratification was not a foregone conclusion. The success of the Federalist movement in Virginia begs the question, were the writings and actions of the Anti-Federalists indelibly relevant to the course of American history? I argue that the answer is unquestionably yes, for while they did not successfully refute the Federalist cause, they created a space for the address of their own concerns in the push for the Bill of Rights. The intensity of Anti-Federalist fervor and complexity of its concerns made the issue of forming a bill of rights even more pressing for the founding fathers. Thus, in its formation, the Virginia Anti-Federalist movement achieved success in its own right. After the war ended in 1783, while statesmen across America saw a need for a new system of government, many prominent Virginians were content with the idea of revising the Articles of Confederation. These Articles had provided a framework to hold thirteen rebelling colonies together during the American Revolution. However, after the