The American Revolution, a war fought against a distant and all too powerful government, instilled a fear of centralized governmental power in the United States. The idea of the U.S. constitution sparked a political divide; it encouraged heated debates from those who are known as Federalists, and those who are known as Anti-Federalists. The Federalists, individuals who supported the ratification of the constitution, argued that the Articles of Confederation were too weak and that a strong national government with checks and balances was needed. On the other hand, the Anti-Federalists argued that the president would be like a king and that there needs to be a Bill of Rights to protect the people. If I had been alive in the time of this intense debate, I would have voted for the federalist side of the argument. I believe that a government stronger than the Articles of Confederation was needed, but I would also have supported the Bill of Rights. …show more content…
Reflecting upon “the complaints of farmers … the complaints of every class public creditors” and the “melancholy faces of … working people” the Federalists knew that they needed change, and that change should come in the form of a strong national government (Frazier 61). The Federalists, in order to combat the Anti-Federalists’ fears about the national government having too much power that could result in tyranny, proposed the idea of checks and balances. Thomas Jefferson, a man with the grand vision of liberty on his mind, supported the “organization of the government into Legislative, Judiciary and Executive” branches, because with the ability of each branch to restrict the other, the possibility of tyranny and a corrupt national government was drastically reduced (Jefferson
Are you a Federalist or an Anti-Federalist? The proportional representation of the people and the government in the pursuit of equality and happiness is thoroughly explained through the Anti-Federalist party. Jackson Turner Main wrote, "to them, the man of 'federal principles' approved of 'federal measures,' which meant those that increased the weight and authority or extended the influence of the Confederation Congress." By stating this he intended to provide the explanation and root of the problem; the egos of both parties, especially federalists were a constant wall blocking the parties from a resolution The Anti-Federalists were composed of many differential elements.
Hence Federalists came up with the Bill of Rights as a way to get the Constitution ratified and for people to really see a needed change. The Bill Of Rights which lists specific prohibitions on governmental power, lead the Anti-Federalists to be less fearful of the new Constitution . This guaranteed that the people would still remain to have rights, but the strong central government that the country needed would have to be approved. The 1804 Map of the nation shows that even after the ratification of the United States Constitution there still continued to be “commotion” and dispute in the country.(Document 8) George Washington stated that the people should have a say in the nation and government and everything should not be left to the government to decide.(Document 3) Although George Washington was a Federalist many believed he showed a point of view that seemed to be Anti-Federalists. Many believed that The Bill of Rights needed to be changed and modified and a new document’s time to come into place.
During the ratification of the debate of Constitution of the United States, there were two groups that played a major role during the time. Federalists supported the ratification of the Constitution. They were mostly conservative wealthy landowners or former loyalists. Some of the well-known Federalist during this time were George Washington, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay. Anti-Federalists on the other hand opposed the ratification of the constitution, and they were in favor of the Articles of Confederation since it was less government and the states still maintained their sovereignty.
Most supporters were wealthy and upper-class citizens; they also tended to be well-educated. One of the most significant points federalists believed in was the checks and balances principle. The checks and balances principle encouraged a stability of authority among the branches of government — legislative, executive, and judicial. The legislative branch had many responsibilities, but they are best known for making laws. Some examples of how the legislative branch can balance out the executive branch’s power are that they could declare war, override vetoes of the President, implement a tax, distribute funds from taxes, and authorize the replacement of the Vice President.
The Federalists wanted a strong central government. The Anti- Federalists claims Constitution gives the central government too much power and, and they worried about the new constitution will not give them any rights. That the new system threatened freedom; Also, threatened the sovereignty of the states and personal liberties; failed to protect individual rights. Besides, some of famous peoples such as " Patrick Henry" and artists have came out against the Constitution. Although the anti-Federalists were unsuccessful in stopping the passage of the Constitution, their efforts have been responsible for the creation and implementation of the Bill of
When the Articles of Confederation failed to organize the citizens and the economy of America its citizens decided to advocate for a different form of government, that arose in the creation of the Constitution, the supreme law of the land. As a new form of government was presented the fear that the American Revolution had brought upon the colonies lead to the creation of two different political groups the Federalist and Anti- federalist that stood for those who feared the government and those who believed that the government should be stronger. Based on the Federalist papers I believe that the Anti- federalist had a better argument as they pushed for the protection of individual rights and the limitation of the power of the government. Federalist
The federalists had political and practical reasons. Examples of political reasons is Jefferson created the Republicans and had been going against the federalists for years so they have grown to hate Jefferson. However the Federalists also had some practical reasoning such as Jefferson has always said you should not be allowed to bend the laws even just a little bit so when he bent the laws a lot the Federalists were confused. The Federalists also knew he did not want Hamilton to make a national bank because nowhere in the constitution did it say he could.
“Federalists vs Anti-Federalists” The title of the article is “The Antifederalists were right” it was written on Sept. 27, 2006 by Gary Galles. The article was about the reasons why antifederalists were right. The Federalists wanted a strong central government.
Although I agree with some points of the Federalists, I mainly find the Antifederalists’ arguments more persuasive. Regarding the view of ‘The People,’ the Federalists believe that having an authority figure make decisions instead of the mass is more efficient. However, with access to education, people are educated to understand and develop their own choices instead of relying on one person to make the decisions for them. One example are the people voting in the presidential elections. The people choose who they want as the president of the country.
Within today’s society individuals struggle to view one another as allies, rather people categorize other’s as being enemies. This sense of individuals being suspicious of one another is not a concept that is shocking to society. For instance, during the time of the founding father’s established the United States Constitution, there were two groups: the anti federalist and the federalist. The anti-federalist opposed the ratification of the Constitution because these people were eerie of a strong federalized government that infringed on individuals right’s. As the federalist supported the Constitution and advocated that the document protected individuals from government regulations.
Federalists The purpose of the government is to maintain and to organize citizen’s rights and prevent confusion in our country. The articles of confederation were absolutely no good for the united states because the congress had no control over taxation, there was no executive branch and no court system. The constitution should definitely be approved because it would help balance out our government between three branches and bring together our country under one leader. In order to keep our country from falling apart we need balance.
Following the Revolutionary War, America had just gained independance from Great Britain and needed to form a new government. The Articles of Confederation were established as an attempt to create a government that was unlike Britain’s. Unfortunately, the Articles of Confederation had several weaknesses. When in the process of repairing those weaknesses, the Federalists and the Anti-federalists formed. The Articles of Confederation were very weak as well as useless to America and because of this, the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists could not agree on a new type of government.
They felt the Constitution would create a system of federalism, a system in which the national government holds significant power, but the smaller political subdivisions also hold significant power. They felt the country needed a strong central government so that it didn’t fall apart. The Ant-Federalists were on the opposing side, they felt the Constitution granted the government too much power. They also felt there wasn’t enough protection of their right with an absent Bill of Rights. Another concern of the Anti-Federalists mainly came from the lower classes, from their standpoint they thought the wealthy class would be in main control and gain the most benefits from the ratification of this document.
Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists Federalists were mostly merchants, bankers manufacturers, and wealthy farm owners. They basically owned land or some type of property and were well-educated. Most of these people lived in urban areas. Anti-Federalists were mostly artisans, shopkeepers, frontier settlers, and poor farmers. They were mostly uneducated and illiterate and most of them lived in rural areas.
The author of anti-federalist 17# was Robert Yates (not the serial killer), at the time he was a politician and judge also the oldest of his family. he lived in the state of New York and tried to run for governor. The document yates wrote was just about states that the anti-federalists did not desire a constitution as a result of they felt that it 'd offer the central government an excessive amount of power which it 'd remove all power from the states. "to raise and support armies at pleasure, in addition in peace as in war, and their management over the militia, tend not solely to a consolidation of the govt. , however the destruction of liberty..." a stronger central government would higher shield everybody and is additional for the good