When the Constitution was finally adopted by the Philadelphia Convention in 1787, ratification was far less than certain. The Federal system proposed did offer security for the states in case of attack by foreign adversaries, and against rebellious encroachment by neighboring states; but it was still more government than many states were willing to accept. Objections to the Constitution were swift and strong. Virginia was a leader of the anti-federalist movement that insisted on individual liberties being listed in the document to ensure the federal government would not seek to limit the idea of self-governance that had become the foundation of society, particularly in Virginia.

Patrick Henry strongly opposed the ratification and led the antifederalist movement until an agreement was reached that after ratification, the first Congress would respond to insistence by the states and propose a list of individual rights that could not be infringed by the federal government.

An extended debate in legislatures and public media by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and Virginia’s own James Madison attempted to reassure states that the federal government had specific enumerated powers and states were authorized to address any variances from the plan through their Congressional Representatives and Senators. Those assurances failed to convince many state leaders and compelling arguments against ratification were widely circulated.

The scales tipped in favor of ratification after agreement was reached that states would propose amendments spelling out individual rights and the first Congress would submit a Bill of Rights to the states for ratification. Virginia was the 10^th state to ratify four days after New Hampshire, which finalized adoption of the Constitution for these United States of America. North Carolina and Rhode Island held out for more than an additional year before joining the union of states.

Throughout the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Delegates continually raised concerns about the power of a federal government over sovereign states. In their mind, states were not subdivisions of a national government, but fully independent governments that sought to join their efforts for common defense and combined resources. When it came to the matter of proposing amendments to the Constitution, James Monroe insisted that in addition to Congress having power to propose amendments, the states be authorized to assemble to propose amendments.

In the final analysis, the final authority of government was not to rest in a national capital, but with the one power seen as the final authority of government, the people through their state legislatures.

With a new Constitution ratified, and a Bill of Rights included, this new Republic was set on a course that achieved more power and wealth in its first century than had ever seen in other governments established hundreds of years or even centuries longer. The inevitable corruption George Washington warned about began very quickly. This freshly minted Republic controlled by its sovereign states devolved into political parties in less than a decade. Political Parties were established by the election of 1796, and 1800 saw an election controlled completely by well-placed power influences and the light of liberty dimmed a little with each succeeding party driven election.

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