be president. The person with the second most votes would be vice president. If there was a tie, the House of
Representatives would decide, with each state getting one vote. The constitution gave the president one four year term and didn’t say anything about a second term.
Ratification of the Constitution Welcome to the section on ratification of the constitution. Article eight of the constitution said the constitution would be ratified when nine out of thirteen state conventions approved it. The constitution went into effect when New Hampshire ratified it on June twenty first, seventeen eighty
eight. Federalists were supporters of the constitution. The most important federalists were Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison. James Madison wrote the Federalist Papers. The Federalist Papers were articles which explained
the need for a strong central government. The antifederalists did not support the constitution. Famous antifederalists include Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson. The antifederalists did not approve of the constitution for three reasons. One. A strong central government might lead to tyranny. Two. The states would have too little power. Three. The constitution had no Bill of Rights to protect the freedom of the people. 13
