The Leading Federalists
The struggle to ratify the Constitution was one that would have failed had there not been the help of these key players.
James Madison
James Madison
James Madison, after writing the Constitution, became one of the major proponents of ratification.
- Madison was one of the writers of the Federalist papers, a group of documents written to convince the general population of the United States to ratify the Constitution. Madison personally wrote over one-third of them.
- He participated in several debates against Patrick Henry (the leader of the Anti-Federalists), making Madison the defacto leader of the Federalists.
- Madison is responsible for writing the Bill of Rights, the compromise that made ratification possible.
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton, another proponent of ratification, worked closely with James Madison.
- Hamilton is responsible for writing over half of the Federalist papers.
- Hamilton, while not a supporter of the Constitution as it was being written, advocated for it's ratification extensively after it was written for he thought that it was a much better alternative to the Articles of Confederation.
- Hamilton was one of the loudest voices in the Federalist party, working for three years to pass the Constitution.
John Jay
John Jay
John Jay was the third author of the Federalist Papers. He worked closely with other Federalists to Ratify the Constitution.
- Jay is responsible for writing only four of the eighty four Federalist papers.
- He represented the stately image of an American politician of the age. Using his knowledge of the world of politics, Jay contributed greatly to the struggle for Ratification.
- Jay is known for being a strong supporter of the federal government system proposed in the Constitution.
