ABSTRACT
The framers were visionaries trying to create a society of prosperity and grandeur. Most Americans felt primary loyalty to their states. Central authority was viewed as a slippery step on the slide toward tyranny. The nationalists at Philadelphia knew their point of view would frighten many of their countrymen. That’s why they called themselves Federalists instead of nationalists during the campaign for ratification. A government with power to regulate commerce and with a judiciary to settle interstate disputes could become the engine of prosperity. The framers “cheated” on the ratification of the Constitution. Under the Articles of Confederation, amendments had to be approved by all 13 states. In an individual state, demagogues might seize the passions of the uninformed masses. It had happened in Rhode Island, where the debtors were in control, and almost had happened in Massachusetts during Shays’ Rebellion.
