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The Anti-Federalists were against the ratification of the Constitution for many reasons. The Anti-Federalists believed that the Constitution, as drafted, would lead to a loss of individual liberties, an erosion of state sovereignty, and the potential for the rise of tyranny.
Who were the Anti-Federalists? The Anti-Federalists opposed the new Constitution. The Anti-Federalist camp included a group of founding-era heavyweights, including: Virginia’s George Mason, Patrick Henry, and Richard Henry Lee; Massachusetts’s Samuel Adams, Elbridge Gerry, and Mercy Otis Warren; New York’s powerful Governor George Clinton
Those who did not support the Constitution came to be known as Anti-Federalists or ‘states-rights men’ and their most notable representative was Patrick Henry (who had refused to attend the Convention because of his suspicion of it, declaring “I smell a rat, tending toward monarchy”).
Jul 13, 2018 · “Anti-Federalist” describes the philosophical and political position of individuals who, during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and the subsequent state ratification debates (1787–89), generally opposed the constitution proposed to replace the Articles of Confederation.
Among the Antifederalists were prominent revolutionaries such as Virginia Governor Patrick Henry and state delegate Richard Henry Lee. Others like Elbridge Gerry and George Mason had been champions of the revolution but were now taking aim at the proposals for upending the confederation.
Federalists labeled their opponents Anti-Federalists, the first of many clever political maneuvers that helped to secure ratification. Crying foul, Anti-Federalists claimed that they were the true federalists, as they argued for more power to the states, and that the Federalists were actually nationalists.
The men who opposed the Constitution's unconditional ratification in 1787–1788 were called Anti-Federalists, although they claimed to be the true federalists and the true republicans.
