Two issues during the early republic were the ratification of the Constitution and the purchase of the Louisiana Territory. The Constitution of the United States was written in 1787, but for its ratification there was a struggle that lasted until 1790. The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America in 1803. Some historical circumstances surrounding the issue of ratification of the Constitution the Constitution was the weakness of the new government under the Articles of Confederation which led to the Constitutional Convention. Members of Congress believed that the Articles of Confederation, the first government of the United States, should be changed while others did not want the change. This desired Constitution created a huge dispute and discussion between federalists and anti-federalists. Supporters of the new Constitution, the federalists, began to publish articles in support of ratification. As stated in document 2 John Jay (Federalist) had many arguments in support of ratifying the Constitution. An argument used by John Jay was, with the ratification of the Constitution, “…our people free, contented and united…”. The Anti-Federalists used numerous arguments to oppose the ratification of the Constitution. The Anti-Federalists believed that a free republic could not long exist over such a vast country. The Federalists wanted to ratify the Constitution while the Anti-Federalists completely despised the idea. Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay eventually compiled 85 essays as the Federalist Papers. These supporters of the Constitution believed that the system of checks and balances (a system in which different parts of an organization (such as a government) have powers that influence and control other parts so that no one part can become too powerful) would allow a strong central government to preserve states' rights. They believed that the Articles of Confederation were too weak and needed a change. The Articles of Confederation contained “errors” that needed to be corrected, the Federalist said. The ratification of the Constitution led to an improved and more advanced country. There were not many problems regarding the purchase of the Louisiana Territory. It didn't even require a war to acquire the land, as Document 5 explains. The main problem was that the Federalist Party argued that the Louisiana Purchase was a worthless dessert, and the Constitution made no provision for the acquisition of new lands or the negotiation of treaties without the consent of the Senate (Document 5).