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To counter, several antifederalists penned their own essays in defense of the confederation and warned the Constitution would jeopardize what the American Revolution had won. Ultimately, one of the largest caveats made by antifederalists was the assumption that Washington would serve as the first chief executive.
- The Constitution's Alleged Deficiencies
- Leaders and Adherents
- Ratification Debate Dynamics
- Legacy
- Bibliography
The Constitution was made public in September 1787 and faced opposition almost immediately. Controversy exists over the primary motivation of the anti-Federalists. Some think they opposed the Constitution primarily for economic reasons. Others argue that they wanted to protect their own political power. Still others find that they were influenced m...
Some of the nation's best-known political leaders were among those who opposed the Constitution. Famed orator Patrick Henry led the anti-Federalists in Virginia, joined by the author of the Virginia declaration of rights, George Mason, who had attended the Constitutional Convention but refused to sign the document. Governor George Clinton organized...
Several practical matters complicated the anti-Federalists' quest to alter or defeat the Constitution. The call to form a convention came from the Federalists. They were interested in making radical changes to the structure of the national government and were highly motivated to attend the Philadelphia Convention. Anti-Federalists wanted less far-r...
Though the Constitution was ratified, the anti-Federalists did not leave the fight empty-handed. They expected that the recommended amendments would be seriously considered even though the push for a second convention failed to have an impact. Yet few anti-Federalists were elected to the new Congress. With massive Federalist majorities in both the ...
Banning, Lance. "Republican Ideology and the Triumph of the Constitution, 1789–1793." William and Mary Quarterly,3rd ser., 31 (1974): 167–188. Cornell, Saul. "The Changing Historical Fortunes of the Anti-Federalists." Northwestern University Law Review84 (1989): 39–73. ——. The Other Founders: Anti-Federalists and the Dissenting Tradition in America...
Introduction. Public opposition to the proposed new government began immediately after the release of the Constitution on September 17, 1787, and was preceded by private objections expressed at the Constitutional Convention and in letters between leaders knowledgeable about what was going on in Philadelphia.
Mar 4, 2020 · Anti- Federalists believed there were far too many government officials who served at the discretion of the president and owed their power and authority to the president. The concern was that they would become more like royal officials and work toward consolidating the president’s power.
Sep 27, 2017 · First, they believed that the new Constitution consolidated too much power in the hands of Congress, at the expense of states. Second, they believed that the unitary president eerily resembled a monarch and that that resemblance would eventually produce courts of intrigue in the nation’s capital.
What did the Anti-federalists mean by a “consolidated republic”? Why does the Federal Farmer reject the “partial consolidation” that will result from the proposed constitution? Why did Centinel and Brutus believe that an extended republic would result in either rebellion or tyranny?
Aug 8, 2019 · In early August 1787, the Constitutional Convention’s Committee of Detail had just presented its preliminary draft of the Constitution to the rest of the delegates, and the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists were beginning to parse some of the biggest foundational debates over what American government should look like.
