They were afraid that a strong national government might abuse the rights of the people, so a list of rights that would be protected by the gov was necessary.

They believed that a strong central government was necessary if the states were going to band together to form a nation. A strong central government could represent the nation to other countries. Federalists also believed that a strong central government could best protect individual citizens’ rights and freedoms.

James Madison

Because of widespread fear of a strong central government at the time they were written and strong loyalties among Americans to their own state as opposed to any national government during the American Revolution, the Articles of Confederation purposely kept the national government as weak as possible and the states as …

The founders felt that by dividing the power between three branches the power of government could be limited. The bill of rights the first 10 amendments to the constitution were also designed to limit the power of the government and protect the people from the power of the government.

The new nation also faced economic and foreign policy problems.

• A huge debt remained from the Revolutionary War and paper money issued during the conflict was virtually worthless.
• In violation of the peace treaty of 1783 ending the Revolutionary War, Britain continued to occupy forts in the Old Northwest.

A central issue at the Convention was whether the federal government or the states would have more power. Many delegates believed that the federal government should be able to overrule state laws, but others feared that a strong federal government would oppress their citizens.