History of the USA · Colonial America and independence. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.
The first national government, under the Articles of Confederation (in force from 1781), was a loose league of states. Congress could not tax or regulate trade, and there was no executive and no national courts. Shays' Rebellion (1786 to 1787) convinced many that it was too weak.
The Constitutional Convention met at Philadelphia in 1787 and wrote a new framework through compromises between large and small states and between North and South. Federalists supported it. Anti-Federalists feared a strong centre and demanded a bill of rights, which was added in 1791.
Under Washington, Hamilton's financial plans and disputes over foreign policy produced the first parties: Federalists against the Democratic-Republicans of Jefferson and Madison.
The Federalists of 1787 to 1788 wanted the Constitution ratified; the Anti-Federalists opposed it. Do not think that Anti-Federalists were against a federal system: they wanted more power left with the states.
Answer: Equal representation in the Senate: two senators for every state, whatever its size.
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