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Differences And Similarities Between The Federalist And Anti-Federalists

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Both the federalists and the anti-federalists had much to say in regards to the executive office. While it is comforting that they found common ground in regards to the electoral college being an excellent mode of electing the executive, they disagreed fundamentally in the design of the executive. For the purpose of this paper, I will first discuss the Federalists arguments for the executive and the types of power the executive needs to possess. I will then discuss the Anti-Federalists disagreements towards the Federalists claims. I will then conclude with whom I think has the most convincing argument and why. The Federalists argued that the executive would not be a monarch like the king of England as the Anti-Federalists believed. The …show more content…

The Anti-Federalists were too trepid in their allocation of power. Under an Anti-Federalists executive, there would be largely no power held by the executive. However, evidenced by The Articles of Confederation there is a necessity for a strong executive who can execute the laws forcefully. The Anti-Federalists believed in weakening the executive as much as possible. However, many of their methods are not viable options. For instance, they believed in a multiple executive or an executive council, which is nice in theory, but in practice, we need an executive that is firm and makes decisions. Also, it is much easier to attribute responsibility to one person rather than to a council or multiple executives. It is very important that the executive should be held accountable if there are massive mistakes. Furthermore, the Anti-Federalists argued for term limits, however, term limits only serve to hamper an executive’s abilities and applies less responsibility to the executive. An executive that is subject to term limits will be less likely to pursue long-term policy and will be less likely to pursue the public good. Reelection is an incentive, people are driven by incentives, if we want our executive to work well we should provide them with incentives. Further, no matter if there are term limits or not, all partisans with an ideology will seek to fill appointments and offices with others of the same

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