Differences Between The Federalist And Anti Federalists

Decent Essays
The main issues that divided the Federalists and Anti-Federalists were the United States Constitution, Popular Sovereignty, Federal Power, State Power, and the Bill of Rights. Federalists were the supporters of the new constitution. Their biggest concern was making the nation’s government stronger, hoping that it would promote unity and stability. Some known Federalists were George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison. Anti- Federalists were those who opposed the constitution. Their biggest concern was they felt that the new constitution took power away from the states, and the people no longer had a voice. Some known Anti-Federalists were Thomas Jefferson, George Mason, Patrick Henry, and Elbridge Gerry. Popular Sovereignty is

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The Anti Federalist were a group of people who feared that the central government would have entirely too much power. They didn't like the fact that there would be a person incharge of nations. They also feared that the congress would misfortune the…

    • 392 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    It didn't make sense for the National Government to have more power leaving the states weak. They also believed that the power among the three branches was not equally divided. The Anti-Federalist were more for the people, more of which were farmers and small landowners. More and more the Anti-Federalist believed that the Federalist were more interested in a aristocratic society which would be at the expense of the commoners of the colonies. Now the way the Federalist won over the ratification of the Constitution was that James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton wrote The Federalist Papers which helped convinced some people to ratify the Constitution.…

    • 364 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The anti-federalist thought that this new document would have all the same characteristics of Great Britain the country they had fought so hard to extract themselves from and others feared that this new government threatened their personal liberties. The Anti-Federalist demanded a document that protected states rights and individual rights and eventually the Federalist made The Bill Of Rights. I am standing here today signing the ratification of the constitution because of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists making this…

    • 684 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The anti-federalists feared that the central government would become too powerful and that if the government would commit an infraction on the states’ rights. The Federalists were in agreement with the constitution. The federalists were wealthy, well educated and were unified by the thought of higher power. The leaders of the Federalists included John Adams and Alexander Hamilton both yearned for an effective constitution. In contrast, the Anti-federalists were generally farmers and anybody that fell below the line of being wealthy.…

    • 319 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    To this day, both sides, Anti-Federalist and Federalist, sound persuasive. The Anti-Federalists focused on the American want for local governments that respond directly to popular concerns. The Federalists argued that only a national government could really protect the people’s rights and turn the new nation into a great power. But more than just this are many other issues including that smaller states, who feel that they are operating just fine, will get the short end of the straw.…

    • 1282 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Federalist No. 13 Dbq

    • 604 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Anti-Federalists argued that a stronger national government must be accompanied by explicit safeguards against tyranny. The Anti-Federalists supported states’ rights. 20. What were the Federalists Papers and why were they so critical to ratification of the Constitution?…

    • 604 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Although the Federalist shard many of the same ideas of the Antifederalist such as individual rights (Oaks 223). The Anti-Federalists shared different view on how the government should be ran. Because of their experiences with the tyranny of Great Britain, they feared the establishment of a strong national government. The Anti-Federalists also did not accept the use of separation of powers and checks and balances, because they feared the branches of government would abuse the power and not serve the purpose of protecting the rights and freedoms of the individuals. It was evident in the way they thought things should be ran and why they thought they where right, being that they where from a old-line of republicans and did not favor a system…

    • 130 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Essay On Shay's Rebellion

    • 809 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Anti-Federalists feared a powerful government would oppress the people. They argued that the new constitution was too much like the powerful British Monarchy. Anti-federalist thought the power should remain with the states and local governments.…

    • 809 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The federalist of the Constitution were the people who supported it. The anti-federalist were those who went against it. Federalist thought that the Constitution was based on federalism. The anti-federalist believed that the Constitution took too much power away from the states and did not insured rights for the people. The federalists even wrote essays to answer the anti-federalist attacks to the Constitution.…

    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    American Revolution Dbq

    • 1328 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Two groups that played a key role were Federalists and Anti-Federalists. Federalists believed in having a strong central government, whereas Anti-Federalists waned the majority of the power given to the people and were wary of the government having too much control. These groups are similar to Authoritarians and Libertarians of today’s society, respectively. In fact, these group’s differing beliefs sparked one of the disagreements surrounding the Constitution, “One of the many points of contention between Federalists and Anti-Federalists was the Constitution’s lack of a bill of rights that would place specific limits on government power. Federalists argued that the Constitution did not need a bill of rights, because the people and the states kept any powers not given to the federal government.…

    • 1328 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It was agreed upon in the Constitution that “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed” (Jefferson). By stating this it was absolute that those who were in a position of power are there because the people they over-see. Some of the men behind the support for the Constitution were Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. Although the Federalist strongly supported this change there were many disagreements from the Anti-Federalist group. The main argument came from those who believed this new Constitution would strengthen government at the expense of its people and independent states.…

    • 1678 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Anti-Federalist felt greatly upset by the Federalist ratification of the Constitution, which had shifted state power into federal hands, while the Federalists wished to keep a Bill of Rights out of the Constitution, because they believed that they could not list each right, and that the rights unstated would be broken and abused. The Federalists eventually won the ratification of the Constitution in large part because they set up the ratification process in a way that would be favorable to them. They had new conventions which were held in states that were favorable to their position first, and they required only 9 of the 13 states to ratify, although the Articles of Confederation had clearly stated that all 13 states would be required in order to agree to any amendments to the…

    • 517 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Anti Federalists Essay

    • 677 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Two of the major leaders of this group were Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson, who was overseas during this time. The Anti-Federalists thought that under the Articles people had the rights that they rightfully deserved. Under the Articles, the poor people benefitted greatly. During the process of trying to get the new Constitution ratified the Anti-Federalists felt that under this new government the rich had all of the power instead of the people (Doc 5). Under the Articles the states had the power to make laws and do whatever they pleased, and to some of the states the idea of changing to a government that the central government had all the power was absolutely absurd.…

    • 677 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In regards to those in favor of the Constitution, Federalists were those who viewed the…

    • 1123 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This would allow for the government to do things that aren't listed within the Constitution. The Anti-Federalists were opposed to this. They wanted a strict interpretation of the Constitution. Some examples of Anti-Federalists are George Mason and John Hancock. Anti-Federalists by definition are a political party that wanted the power of the individual state to be greater than the power of the central government, and a strict interpretation of the constitution promoted this.…

    • 1080 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays