Similarities And Differences Between The Federalist And Anti-Federalists

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The Federalists are who instated the foundation for what our country is. Both the Federalists and Anti-Federalists had an opinions on how the nation should exist. However, the ideals of each group conflicted on multiple levels. Originally, the first draft for a constitution was established by the Articles of Confederation in 1778 (Kramnick, pg155). This was a document to draft laws for the newly independent states. This compilation of article each had their own purpose to the people. Starting with the First Article where we got or name and continuing to more pressing information like what was to be forbidden of permitted (Kramnick, pg155-162). The United States of America was emphasized in the First Article (Kramnick, pg155). This title was to bring strength to the bond that was being part of these independent states while still keeping the fact that they were individual. Such examples of staying individual were given in Articles two and four of the Articles of confederation. Article two supports each state as having sovereignty, freedom, and independence and every Power (Kramnick, pg156). This show the separation between states because are allowed all Powers as long as they stay in the jurisdiction of their state. Next, article four promotes a mutual friendship however each state does not need to do the same as another (Kramnick, pg156). Those who supported this document were the Anti-Federalists. By supporting this document, they upheld the ideals of having power solely in the states, contrary to a central government. The idea of having a solely state power meant that they did not have a strong communication between states, which according to a man mascaraing as Cetnil, made them weak. Patrick Henry, George Mason, and Richard Henry Lee were key member behind promoting this. These men wrote literature to advocate for the Antifederalist side and published it. This all changed with the ideas of the Federalist group. The Federalists started to shape out the country in their image during 1787 (Kramnick, pg170). This group of people supported having a strong centralized government system and because of this created the Constitution. This document, drafted in secrecy, was the beginning of the political structure that we see today. The structure that was put in place has Congress, A Senate and a House of representatives. The House of Representatives was to be composed of people elected and voted in by people of several states (Kramnick, pg171). The Senate on the other hand is to be two people from each state chosen by the legislature (Kramnick, pg172). Although majority power was to go the government, this ability to rule did not come out of thin air. …show more content…
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. Because of the group’s disagreements, they came to write explanations for their position in essay. These essays came to be known as The Federalist Papers and The Anti-federalist Papers. The Federalist papers had a main reason to convey the interpretation to the new constitution. While the Anti-Federalist Papers was pleading those who still secured their rights to allow discussion over the same document. By reading them, we learn that the Anti-Federalist did not think the new Constitution accurately explained the rights of its people. The rights of people came down to what we should be able to stand up for when it comes to our own life. This continues of being our rights as being a person. Today we know that we have a right to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness from both the constitution and the Bill of Rights. But during this feud there was no Bill of Rights present

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