In 1787 one of the greatest documents ever, was written; the Constitution of the United States of America. Some two hundred years later, there have only been 27 amendments to the original document. For decades, people have always thought the Constitution has always been honored and revered, but this is not the case. Before the Constitution, the Articles of Confederation ruled the colonies, but quickly abolished because they were too weak. Just as most other documents, the Constitution had to be ratified or approved, in this case by nine out of the thirteen colonies. Both groups for and against the Constitution of the United States existed at that time. Some groups quickly gave in and approved it, while it took some time before other states could officially approve it. .
The group of people who favored the Constitution of the United States were called federalists. The federalists fought all who were opposed to the ratification of the Constitution. Document 1, a quote from the editor of a newspaper who fully supported the ratification of the Constitution, felt that it was needed because the country was in distress and no one had respect for their country. Shay's Rebellion, an outburst which took place in 1786 and 1787 against taxes, proved the need for a stronger government. The Articles of Confederation were just not strong enough. It formed a loose government in which state governments had more power than the national government. Document 3, an excerpt in which George Washington agreed with John Jay's criticism of the Articles of Confederation, proved the need that the government needed to be reformed. Washington said "We have errors to correct," and what he meant by this is that the country needs to be helped, it is in crisis and the government, which should be the main backbone of the county, is not able to take control. He believes too much trust was given to the people in forming the confederation.