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The main arguments under scrutiny were how much control and power should be vested in the singular national government. 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.
- 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...
Empire or Liberty: The Antifederalists and Foreign Policy, 1787-1788. by Jonathan Marshall. Inquiry Magazine. Historians increasingly recognize the important role that considerations of foreign policy played in shaping the Constitution.'
Learning Objectives. Understand and be able to apply what Anti-federalists meant by the terms “extended republic” or “consolidated republic.” Analyze and rank the problems the Anti-federalists believed would arise from extending the republic over a vast territory.
As states began ratifying the Constitution, Antifederalist efforts either dropped out of the newspapers entirely, effectively ending the “out of doors debates” in a given state, or in many cases transformed, focusing on what amendments the new government should take up first, and who should be elected to the House and Senate seats.
Aug 8, 2019 · The claim of the anti-federalists in effect was that the amount of power vested in the national government, the enumerated powers of article one section eight reinforced by the necessary and proper clause would ab initio, from the very beginning, create this kind of head long drift of power towards the national government.
May 16, 2018 · This paper will (1) consider the historical resurgence of the Anti-Federalists, (2) pro pose their proper role in modern constitutional jurisprudence, and (3) study the Supreme Court’s examination of Anti-Federalist influence on the Constitution when making originalist inquiries.
