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The framers set up a procedure for ratification that called for each state to hold a special convention. The voters would elect the delegates to the convention, who would then vote to accept or reject the Constitution. Ratification—official approval—required the agreement of at least nine states. This system largely bypassed the state legislatures, whose members were likely to oppose the Constitution, since it reduced the power of the states. It also gave the framers an opportunity to campaign for delegates in their states who would support ratification. Supporters of the Constitution called themselves Federalists, because they favored the new Constitution’s balance of power between the states and the national government. Their opponents became known as Antifederalists because they opposed having such a strong central government and thus were against the Constitution. The Federalists insisted that the division of powers and the system of checks and balances would protect Americans from the tyranny of centralized authority. Antifederalists countered with a long list of possible abuses of power by a strong central government. These included a fear that the government would serve the interests of the privileged minority and ignore the rights of the majority. Antifederalists also raised doubts that a single government could manage the affairs of a large country. Their leading argument, however, centered on the Constitution’s lack of protection for individual rights. A