A Strong Central Government Pros And Cons Essay

Alexander Hamilton was a man who strongly believed in a powerful central government. This means he wanted the government to rule and have all the say. Thomas Jefferson was a man who strongly believed in the union of the states with government as a humble leader. The two opposing views caused two political parties to be born, The Federalists, and The Democratic-Republican Party. The Federalists would eventually cease in 1828 and The Democratic-Republican Party would spilt and become the two political parties of today.

During Revolutionary America, two political parties came about: the Federalists and the Democratic-Republics. The Federalists believed in supported federal administration and were highly in favor of the Constitution, while the Democratic-Republicans favored the idea of extending the Revolution to everyday people. Their party names reflect their standpoints.

James Madison’s Federalist 10 was written amid criticisms that a republican form of government had never been successful on a large scale. Madison’s argument was that a well-constructed union could control factions. He argued that in order to control factions from their causes, we would need to either give up liberty or free thought. Since we cannot infringe upon these two natural rights, we must move on to controlling the effects. A republic, Madison argues, would be able to do this because the people choose the representatives, and they choose representatives who they feel best represent their opinions. The representatives would be the voices of their constituents, leaving them with the responsibility of making decisions for the public good.

The ideological differences between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson led to rancorous disputes and the first political parties in America. Throughout the 1790s, the two fought bitterly over issues of constitutional interpretation, but during their presidencies both Jefferson and his friend and ally, James Madison, demonstrated the Federalist ideas of their rival. Although they held mostly Jeffersonian Republican tendencies, both Jefferson and Madison occasionally reflected the beliefs of their adversary, Alexander Hamilton.

Thomas Jefferson- one of the great American founding fathers with exquisite taste in architecture and French wine, but also known to hold a controversial set of ideas- fought frequently and strongly against the Federalists ideas before he achieved Presidency. Jefferson and the other republican democrats who followed suit held the belief that the powers of the federal government should be left strictly to what is granted to them in the Constitution. Those powers not specifically addressed in the Constitution would then be delegated to the state governments. This is to ensure that the federal government did not have too much power as they believe a country runs best under a form of self-government. While on the other corner of the ring, the Federalists believed that the newly founded country would run best if the national government was strong and powerful and in effect if the Constitution was loosely interpreted. This started a series of issues between the two opposing sides with the Federalists pretty much winning every issue. From the issue of funding the war debt, whether a bank of America should be created, to the Alien and Sedition Act; the two sides did not see eye to eye. However, when Jefferson became president, it could be argued that the same abuse of power that he criticized the Federalists to have done could be argued against his own presidency. It is more than fair to say that Jefferson was a hypocrite not only from a Federalist standpoint but also from the

The federalists were the ones who believed that the United States needed a stronger centralized government to represent and defend our country. They supported the Constitution, and proposed that the division of the powers between the legislative, judicial, and executive branches would avoid any president from becoming an absolute dictator. Even though these two groups had different point of views and had different set of beliefs, they all aimed for the same goal, to modify the constitution of the United

The Federalists had a better belief on improving the government. They believed in ratification. They knew if you separated the powers of government under three branches, it would protect the rights of people. No one branch has more authority than the other. The Federalists were more educated while the Anti-Federalists were of poor families and less educated. They believed the Article of Confederation were ineffective. They believed the government should be strong and should protect the people.

In 1787 many important people, like Benjamin Franklin and John Hancock, had different views and beliefs on ratifying the Constitution. This lead to two groups forming the federalists and the anti federalists. The federalist believed that the Constitution should be ratified for the sake of a strong government, while the anti federalist believed that the Constitution should not be ratified because of the lack of individual rights. Specifically, the antifederalists point of view was more reasonable towards the public due to the fact the anti federalists wanted power within each state and not the central government.

What is tyranny and how do you guard against it? Tyranny is most often defined as harsh, absolute power in the hands of one individual - like a king or a dictator. The constitution was created May of 1787, in Philadelphia. “The accumulation of all powers … in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many (is) the very definition of tyranny.” It was made to replace the old constitution, the Articles of Confederation (Background Essay). How did the constitution guard tyranny? The constitution guards against tyranny by the powers of the government, the 3 branches of the government, checks and balances, and the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Federalist and Anti-Federalist were two factions most commonly known for debating during the transition from the Articles of Confederation of the United States Constitution. Both sides debated many things, including the liberties of a citizen in the United States. I believe that the Anti-Federalist 's ideals best preserved the liberties of Americans. The Anti-Federalists believed that there were three defects of a large republic. First, only a small republic can enjoy a voluntary attachment of the people to the government and a voluntary obedience to the laws (Storing, 16). Second, only a small republic can secure a genuine responsibility of the government to the people (Storing, 16). Finally, only a small republic can form the kind of

Federalism guard against tyranny by dividing the power between the two distinct governments, the central and state government. It also allows the people and government to make its decisions this also prevents the government from not having all the voice and letting the U.S. Citizens also have a voice to be heard. In james madison federalist papers #51 states “In the compound republic of america, the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments, and the portion allotted to each subdivided among distinct and separate departments.” This compound government provides “double security” by checking each other. According to James Madison, Federalist Paper #51,1788 “the different governments will each control each other at the same time that each will be controlled by

A confederation is a loose association, rather than a firm union, of states. The Articles of Confederation set up a “firm league of friendship” among the 13 states. Each state was to have equal powers and in most ways was to be independent of the other states. The central, or national, government had very limited powers. The majority of people in the 13 states feared that a strong central government, such as the one they were fighting, might limit the freedom of the separate states. As a result, under the Articals of Cofederation, the national government consisted of a lawmaking body called Congress.

The Articles of Confederation provided the United States with a predominantly ineffective government that could not deal with problems at home and abroad. The country was unable to regulate commerce and effectively deal with foreign nations from 1781 to 1789. Although there were some advantages to the first constitution, the issues caused by the document greatly outweighed the benefits. The Articles of Confederation limited America’s ability to deal problems within its own borders and with foreign nations.

Lecture 14 “Questions to Consider #1”: Why did the Anti Federalists object so strongly to the Preamble to the Constitution?

For James Madison and the delegates, it was a challenge for them to write the Constitution that could be strong enough to hold the people and the states together without anybody taking over too much control. James Madison’s idea between central and state governments if Federalism (Document A). This guards against tyranny because neither of the governments can gain powers over the nation or the people.