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The Federalists and Anti-Federalists had different views about power being shared between the states and the national government. The Federalists believed that the Constitution protected citizens in every state and provided them peace, liberty, and safety, but the Anti-Federalists thought that the
The Antifederalists: A Bibliography. By Quentin Taylor, Resident Scholar Liberty Fund, Inc. Indianapolis, Indiana. The Antifederalists were critics of the Constitution drafted by the Framers and submitted to the states for ratification in 1787. Some Antifederalists were unconditionally opposed to adopting the Constitution, while others demanded ...
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- 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...
Antifederalists and the Birth of American Party Politics. By Adam E. Zielinski. As we discuss the different political factions to emerge during the American Revolutionary generation, we must understand their reasons for coming into existence and how they differed from opposing factions. Like all things, there usually is a counterpoint or weight ...
This dual system of state and national governments is known as federalism. As Madison explained in Federalist Paper #46, the federal system lets state governments, which are closer to the people, meet the “personal interests of the people.”. The states also serve to check the power of the federal government. A Republic.
Federalist policies did in fact threaten to create the very governmental tyranny so many Anti-Federalists had predicted during the controversy over ratification. So, too, did the struggle against the Federalist party exacerbate the tensions between the plebian and middling sorts within the old Anti-Federalist coalition.
Section 1: The Anti-Federalists and the Bill of Rights An Old Whig IV, Philadelphia Independent Gazetteer, October 27, 1787 To define what portion of his natural liberty, the subject shall at the time be entitled to retain, is one great end of a bill of rights. To these may be added in a bill of rights some particular
