Search results
Anti-Federalists, a loose political coalition of popular politicians, such as Patrick Henry, who, fearing the authority of a single national government, unsuccessfully opposed the strong central government envisioned in the U.S. Constitution of 1787 and whose agitations led to the addition of a Bill of Rights.
[1] Main beliefs. 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.
The Anti-Federalists feared that the new Constitution gave the national government too much power. And that this new government—led by a new group of distant, out-of-touch political elites—would: Seize all political power. Swallow up the states—the governments that were closest to the people themselves. Abuse the rights of the American people.
Feb 3, 2022 · The Anti-Federalists were a group of Americans who objected to the creation of a stronger U.S. federal government and opposed final ratification of the U.S. Constitution as approved by the Constitutional Convention in 1787.
- Robert Longley
May 11, 2018 · Anti-Federalists considered extensive national power problematic for a number of reasons. They complained that the national government could tax them without constraint, that it could build an expensive and dangerous army, and that it could even take away the rights that Americans expected government to protect.
Aug 1, 2023 · The Anti-Federalists's opposition to ratifying the Constitution was a powerful force in the origin of the Bill of Rights to protect Americans' civil liberties. The Anti-Federalists were chiefly concerned with too much power invested in the national government at the expense of states.
Jul 13, 2018 · The Anti-Federalists considered the Federalists to overstress devising governing structures that best control people and their potential worst impulses. By contrast, Anti-Federalist philosophy stressed that small self-governing republics served as natural fonts of virtue, and the abundance of virtue would exert sufficient control on individuals.
