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.
Anti-Federalism was a late-18th-century political movement that opposed the creation of a stronger U.S. federal government and which later opposed the ratification of the 1787 Constitution. The previous constitution, called the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, gave state governments more authority.
Many state delegates saw this attempt as tyranny and against what they had just fought for in the war. The other major event that created conflict between the supporters of a united confederation of states and supporters of amending the Articles of Confederation was Shays’ Rebellion in western Pennsylvania in 1786.
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 ...
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. Yet, the names stuck in the first great debate about what type of government America should ...
- 656KB
- 31
But the argument from The Federalist Numbers 4 through 8 was that Americans needed a federal government in order to prevent the states from warring with each other, and in order to prevent states from having land borders with each other that would lead to the buildup of state armies and strongman military figures.
Federalism is a mode of government that combines a general government (the central or "federal" government) with regional governments ( provincial, state, cantonal, territorial, or other sub-unit governments) in a single political system, dividing the powers between the two. Johannes Althusius is considered the father of modern federalism along ...
