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Antifederalists, as they came to be called, were the voices warning of tyranny and a new monarchy if too much power was vested in a national body. Though agreeing the Articles needed visions, they preferred the confederation model of vesting most legislative powers within the individual states.
Opponents of ratification were called Anti-Federalists. Anti-Federalists feared the power of the national government and believed state legislatures, with which they had more contact, could better protect their freedoms.
- OpenStax
- 2016
Apr 23, 2024 · This Topic Page concerns the Federalists versus the Anti-Federalists and the struggle for ratification. Generally speaking, the federalists were in favor of ratification of the Constitution, and the Anti-Federalists were opposed. Note the the Anti-Federalists are often referred to as just Antifederalists (without the hyphen).
Anti-Federalists objected to the power the Constitution gave the federal government and the absence of a bill of rights to protect individual liberties. The Federalists countered that a strong government was necessary to lead the new nation and promised to add a bill of rights to the Constitution.
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Opponents of ratification were called Anti-Federalists. Anti-Federalists feared the power of the national government and believed state legislatures, with which they had more contact, could better protect their freedoms.
Anti-Federalists argued that the Constitution gave too much power to the federal government, while taking too much power away from state and local governments. Many felt that the federal government would be too far removed to represent the average citizen.
However, the students should add another two to four questions that can be answered directly from the primary source material. It is important that the students portraying both the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists use the actual text from the documents to make their arguments.
