Ratification of the Constitution: The Great Debate as Portrayed in American Government Textbooks

Abstract

Every year, thousands of political and social science instructors use upto-date, innovative, and prestigious textbooks to explain the theoretical foundations of the United States These foundations can be confusing. How, for example, does one explain the seemingly contradictory political ideas of liberty and equality, rugged individualism and commonwealth, private property rights and faith in community, government by the best and government by the people, republican democracy and participatory democracy (Burns, Peltason, Cronin 1989: 559)? One way of explaining these ideas is to explore the great by Federalists and Antifederalists over the ratification of the Both camps presented arguments that have had profound and lasting effects upon American government. Although Federalist ideas were ensconced in the Constitution, Antifederalist ideas have also been important. As Ralph Ketcham (1986: 20) noted, . .. Anti-federal ideas have also surfaced again and again in various guises among later generations of Americans. Those ideas, as well as the enticing prospects held out by Publius, are a vital element in the American political tradition and are properly viewed as the philosophy of the Constitution. While textbooks are not the sole source of learning, they can be the primary source of information for students. Often this exposure provides their first impetus for critical thinking about complicated issues. It is appropriate then to ask how useful American government textbooks are in providing an understanding of the ratification debate over the To fully appreciate this debate, students must understand not only what was being asserted by the proConstitution forces led by the Federalists but also what was being denied by them, namely, the arguments of the Antifederalists. Do American government textbooks cover this clash of ideas adequately? Content analysis of textbook descriptions of the ratification debate can provide some clues.