Discussion Thread: The Struggles to Ratify the Constitution

Instruction:

You will complete three Discussions in this course. You will post one thread of at least 400 words by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on day Thursday of the assigned Module: Week.  For each thread, students must support your assertions with at least 2 scholarly citations (one being the course text) in APA format.  Any sources cited (beyond course texts) must have been published within the last five years. Acceptable sources include scholarly peers reviewed journals, published books, the textbook, and the Bible.


Discussion Board:

The purpose of this forum is to encourage you to think through the major debates that occurred after the drafting of the Constitution. These are important debates both for the historic nature of the debates and for the ways in which those debates shaped the lines of political debate throughout American history.

After the Constitution was written, major debates ensued between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists over proper role, size, and scope of the government. In this assignment, you will have the opportunity to explore, explain, and analyze this debate. Refer to the significance/role of the Bill of Rights, Madison’s Federalist Paper #10, and the 9th and 10th Amendments (among other things).

  1. What were the major arguments of the Anti-Federalists and the Federalists?
  2. Based upon your course reading, were the Anti-Federalist or the Federalists more consistent with American political thought?
  3. Find an example of Anti-Federalist thought in current events and find an example of Federalist thought in current events. Explain how your example represents the perspective you’re describing.