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Anti-Federalism was a late-18th-century political movement that opposed the creation of a stronger U.S. federal government and which later opposed the ratification of the 1787 Constitution. The previous constitution, called the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union , gave state governments more authority.
Generally speaking they reflected the sentiments of the Anti-Federalists, which Akhil Reed Amar of the Yale Law School generalized as: a localist fear of a powerful central government, a belief in the necessity of direct citizen participation in democracy, and a distrust of wealthy merchants and industrialists. [7]
The Anti-Federalists also objected to the new powerful central government, the loss of prestige for the states, and saw the Constitution as a potential threat to personal liberties. [7] During the ratification process, the Anti-Federalists presented a significant opposition in all but three states.
The Federalists of this time were rivaled by the Anti-Federalists, who opposed the ratification of the Constitution and objected to creating a stronger central government. [14] The critiques of the Constitution raised by the Anti-Federalists influenced the creation of the Bill of Rights. [15]
The Anti-Federalists demanded and got a promise of a Bill of Rights so that Ratification of the 1787 constitution in 1789 would not be stillborn (a political reality reluctantly recognized by the "father" of the Constitution, James Madison). These collections are their unabridged arguments against a strong central government.
Brutus writes that Congress possesses far too much power, especially over the states. He prefers a true confederation, which would be "a number of independent states entering, for conducting certain general concerns, in which they have a common interest, leaving the management of their internal and local affairs to go and their separate governments.” [6]
George Mason, considered one of the Founding Fathers, recommended a privy council for the executive branch. While most of the Anti-Federalists' arguments did concern the presidency, some Anti-Federalist publications did directly contest Hamilton's position in Federalist 70 for unity in the executive branch. [52] [53]
Shortly after, Anti-Federalists began publishing papers arguing against the Constitution, motivating Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison to respond with The Federalist Papers. [ 2 ] Many anti-federalists believed the government's revenue-raising power should not be restricted to only external taxes.