Thomas Paine Anti Federalism

The Federalist wanted a stable central government and an active executive branch, assuming it would maintain peace and order. The Federalist felt that central government should make all the rules and regulations for the whole country, instead of the states having individual power. The Federalists´ views are better described as those of nationalist. The Federalist wanted a stronger government but wanted to have freedom. The Anti-Federalist thought that the central government would abuse power and neglect the rights of the people.

Federalism was an influential political movement that supported ratification of the US Constitution and was discontent with the Articles of Confederation that limited the central government’s power. The outlook and vision of the Federalist Party called for a stronger national government, a loose construction of the Constitution and a mercantile, rather than agricultural, economy. Leading Federalists Alexander Hamilton and Chief Justice John Marshall helped shape the development of our nation’s government branches with their views that they expressed about ratifying and interpreting our Nation’s newly drafted Constitution. For Federalists during this time period, upholding and honoring the United States Constitution was extremely important in order to safe guard

He expanded the power of the Supreme Court by declaring that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land, and that the Supreme Court Justices were the final deciders. In the Marbury vs. Madison case, Marshall wrote "It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is.” John Marshall was clearly in favor of judicial power, and believed that the Supreme Court should have the final say in cases involving an interpretation of the Constitution. While establishing this, he kept the separation of powers in mind, as he wanted equal representation among the Judicial, Executive, and Legislative branches. In the Marbury vs. Madison, John Marshall declared that the Judicial Branch could not force Madison to deliver the commission.

Federalists sought to reform the government system by implementing an executive power to act as a mediator for states so that no specific state had more power than the other and so that critical deeds can be executed without problem, such as collecting taxes. Anti-Federalists wanted to stray away from an authoritative power, fearing that a powerful and distant government would not serve for the interests and needs of the citizens. They also complained that the Constitution failed to guarantee individual liberties in

Paine had two main points: 1) gaining independence from Britain and 2) forming a democratic republic. His arguments to support the two points centered on democracy. “This seminal polemic was a fiery and effective condemnation of kings and aristocracy that took the American polity by storm” (Fredriksen 375). He advocated independence from Britain. After independence, the new nation would need a government, a political system.

While Europe is considered the center of the Enlightenment, the best practical application of its ideas happened in the American Revolution. In the colonies, the people did not like being taxed since they did not have legislators in Britain. They also became upset with the idea of an absolute monarch. The Enlightenment idea of the sovereignty of the people becomes the fuel for the revolution. Moreover, after the fighting was finished, American free-thinkers were guided by principles of the European philosophes.

The President of the United States wields an enormous amount of power, however, at times it may seem they are relatively powerless. This is because the Constitution only grants the President very limited powers in an attempt to prevent the possibility of an “Imperialist President,” or one that basically acts as a king or ruler with supreme authority. In turn, the founders believed Congress should be the strongest branch, which arguably it was for the first half of United States history. Inevitably, relationships between Congress and the President were bound to be important from the start. However, it wasn’t until the Teddy Roosevelt administration in the early 1900’s that President’s began to break out of the confinements of Constitutional

The Federalist party was comprised of Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, James Madison, George Washington, Charles C. Pinckney, DeWitt Clinton and Rufus King the paramount objective set by federalist Members was a fiscally sound and nationalistic government which promoted the system of checks and balances laid out in the US Constitution for the three branches of government. The federalist Party can be perceived as elitist, and its leaders scorned democracy, widespread suffrage, and open elections, however, the acceptance of these notions didn’t escape Ramifications as they lost the support of the general population due to their favoritism of the exclusive class group. The Federalists despite their invalidation etched a lasting legacy in America politics in the form of a strong federal government with a sound financial base and they decisively shaped Supreme Court policy for another three decades through the person of Chief Justice John

Another component was that of the rights of the states, and the citizens. The anti-federalist opposed this on the grounds that their rights will be quashed by the strong central governments. Which is the reasoning behind the reason for needing the Bill of Rights. The Federalist responded with the system of checks and balances. This would help to form a framework from amassing too much power centered onto one single branch of government.

For example, President James Madison wanted a constitution that will frame a strong central government with most of the power, but was afraid to create to create a tyranny at the same time. So Madison decided to divide the federal government in branches. The framers of the constitution avoided tyranny by using federalism, separating federal power/checks and balances, and small/large state compromise. One way how tyranny was avoided was by using federalism. On 1788, President James Madison wrote on the Federalist Papers talking about splitting the power between the federal government and the people of the states.

The Anti Federalists didn’t want what we have now,they didn’t want the federal government to have and influence over citizens’ lives, they didn’t want the govt to in any way resemble a monarchy because they had just escaped from the corrupt monarchy. They believed that if the power in the country occupied in the people of the various states, then their vision would have a chance of success. Likewise, the Anti Federalist thought there was no bill of rights, so they disliked the constitution. Every constitution should have one for the people, and the government shouldn’t refuse to give on, as shown on Document E. The Letter to James Madison, Objections to the Constitution was written by Thomas Jefferson to explain what he disliked about the constitution to one of the writings, after the constitution was drafted and were awaiting ratification. Thomas Jefferson also asserts that he doesn’t like the fact that there is no rules and regulations in regard to office terms, and how the officers could get re-elected and serve for like, thus, will result with corruption

They wanted a weak central government where the states had larger control of themselves. The new Constitution, they

The Anti- Federalists also believed that the United States should just stay with the Articles of Confederation and wanted to prevent creating a federal government that could develop into a very dominant and overpower individual’s rights. They were also afraid that the Constitution would create too much power in the

The idea suggested by a Massachusetts senator, Caleb Strong, was built off of the views of a federalist by the name of James Iredell. He believed the United States was a representation of the powers the states gave up, but it had no right to take what powers belonged to the states. The United States consisted of a group of sovereign states. The United States can only control the states with the power they allowed the government to have. Many senators and representatives liked the idea as well as Patrick Henry, James Madison, John Marshall, and Alexander Hamilton.

As tensions in Great Britain grew economically and politically, the American colony declared themselves an independent nation. Gaining their independence was significant, however, keeping it would be the challenge. The Americans knew a stable federal republic was essential to remaining independent, thus they created the Constitution. Although, the creation of the Constitution and the equality it ensues a controversial issue, the Constitution did not fulfil the job it was designed to do. The document did not establish a fair government.