Compare And Contrast The Federalist And Anti-Federalist Parties

Although the Federalist and anti-Federalist parties disagreed as to how much power the national authority needed, both parties agreed that a national authority was needed and that the national authority would require an individual source of income to function as it should. Both the Federalist and the anti-Federalist Parties also agreed that the people needed protection against dictatorship and other forms of tyranny. Even though neither party completely liked every part of the Constitution, both parties could agree that overall the Constitution was the “best document obtainable”.
Federalists were the young, educated men who supported the idea of a centralized federal system and the Constitution’s ratification. They liked the fact that the Constitution could have a “broad interpretation” when situations arose that required such flexibility. Notably, the members of the Federalist Party were less known than those of the anti-Federalist Party and their careers had begun later during the Revolution, such as Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. The anti-Federalist Party was opposed to the Constitution because they believed it to be a limitation on individual rights and the rights of the individual states. The beliefs of these …show more content…
The anti-Federalist Party was able to persuade Americans to make some reformations to the Constitution by reminding them of the dangers of a government with too much power. Mercy Otis Warren, a powerful political commentator in America, once wrote that the Constitution would be like “shackles on our own necks.” The anti-Federalist Party is responsible for the set of amendments that protect individual and state rights we know today as the “Bill of Rights.” The anti-Federalist Party also pointed out that the ratification process of the Constitution was illegal under the Articles of Confederation after finding it highly