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Federalists and Anti-Federalists

After seven years of war, America gained independence from Great Britain and was free to form its own government. Ratified in March of 1781, the Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States. While the Articles of Confederation had formed a war-time confederation of states, they did not stand up to the demands of the newly created country once war was over. By 1787 the delegates met in Philadelphia once again to improve the Articles of Confederation. However, because the weaknesses were so great, the delegates turned their attention to creating a new ruling document which came to be the Constitution as we know it. It was not an easy task, and two different groups formed with differing views of how the government should be set up: the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists.

Cause of Conflict: The cause of conflict centered on the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights are:


 * 1) 	 Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition.
 * 2) 	Right to keep and bear arms in order to maintain a well-regulated militia.
 * 3) 	No quartering of soldiers.
 * 4) 	Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures.
 * 5) 	Right to due process of law, freedom from self-incrimination, double jeopardy.
 * 6) 	Rights of accused persons, e.g., right to a speedy and public trial.
 * 7) 	Right of trial by jury in civil cases.
 * 8) 	Freedom from excessive bail, cruel and unusual punishments.
 * 9) 	Other rights of the people.
 * 10) 	Powers reserved to the states 2

Federalists == Federalists believed in and wanted a strong national government. Prominent Federalists Alexander Hamilton and James Madison vehemently argued that the Constitution did not need the addition of the Bill of Rights. They felt the Constitution limited the government; not the people as the Anti-Federalists argued. They also stood for indirect election of government officials, longer term limits for office holders, and representative democracy. A big belief they held was that the government should have more power to collect taxes, and make decisions for the country as a whole. 3 Fears of Ant-Federalists: A lingering fear left over from the revolution was that a government with too much power would ultimately lead to tyranny, such as that faced under British Rule. This was a major fear of Anti-Federalists. Additionally, they feared the government would be dominated by the wealthy elite which would lead to political corruption. However, the most powerful objection voiced by the Anti-Federalists was the lack of protection for individual liberties. At the time, many states had based their constitutions on the Virginia model which listed explicit individual rights. It only makes sense that they would want those rights represented at the national level. It was believed by some that the Federalists had purposely not listed individual rights because they wanted to limit the gains that had been made by ordinary people during the revolution. Why were the Anti-Federalists so paranoid about the Central government having too much power? As mentioned before, they absolutely did not want any form of government which resembled or had the possibility of becoming a tyranny. They were very firm in their desire to promote the importance of limiting government power. The president’s power to veto the decisions made by the legislature, having only elite citizens elected to the lower house of legislature, and the fear of Congress passing oppressive taxes all galvanized the Anti-Federalists to action. They began rallying citizens’ support by writing pamphlets and articles. These writings became known as the Anti-Federalist Papers. 4

Anti-Federalist Papers Originally written using pseudonyms, the writers called themselves Brutus, Cato, Centinel, and Federal Farmer. Through their writings, the Anti-Federalists were able to bring awareness of their concerns over issues such as: (mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1175/anti-federalists) 5 The Anti-Federalist papers made an enormous impact on legislatures throughout the country. After reading what Cato, Federalist Farmer, Brutus, and Centinel had to say, three important states entered the fight. Massachusetts, Virginia, and New York all made the ratification of the Constitution dependent upon the inclusion of the Bill of Rights. Both the Federalists and Anti-Federalists were steadfast in their argument. Violence erupted in legislatures (most notably between Elbridge Gerry and Francis Dana at the Massachusetts Convention in 1788).
 * the excessive power of the national government at the expense of the state government
 * the disguised monarch powers of the president
 * apprehensions about a federal court system
 * fears that congress might seize too many powers under the necessary and proper clause
 * concerns about a republican government could not work in a land the size of the United States
 * the lack of a bill of rights to protect their individual liberties