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Federalist vs anti federalist issues
Federalist vs anti federalist issues
Con and pro s of the us constitution
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The two groups debated the merits of the Constitution for three years, between 1787 and 1790, during which time the colonies debated the ratification. the federalists promoted an English-style society based on strong commercial growth, national prosperity, and the world empire. The anti-federalists, on the other hand, considered that the success of the American Revolution had a unique opportunity to achieve a real republican system of government. the feds adopted that label to identify themselves before the popular opinion, which was strongly against the idea of the national government and supported the idea of the federation. The anti-federalists opposed the Constitution, since they wanted a purely federal system, the anti-federalists were …show more content…
the true federalists. On the other hand, the federalists believed that, in a large republic, the presence of diverse groups would eliminate the fear of tyranny and that the groups would compromise their points of view to reach a consensus. the anti-federalists were strongly against a powerful central government that controlled citizens from a remote capital, as was the case in London and the rest of the central governments in the world. The anti-federalists supported the idea that each state had to be sovereign and have its own independent government. The truth is that anti-federalists are concerned that the existence of a strong central power can eliminate or limit the power of states and the rights of individuals.
The anti-federalists were mostly farmers and merchants who believed in local community action, while the federals came from a richer class of merchants and landowners who would benefit from foreign trade agreements and stable economic conditions. The anti-federalists were critical of centralized power, which they thought would no longer serve to promote the interests of local citizens. One thing that needs to be said, first; that is, the common motive of both the federalists and antifederalists. That is, although federalists and antifederalists disagreed because of their divergent views, both were concerned to find a system that could preserve the newly found freedom. The debate between federalists and antifederalists is very interesting, although, interestingly, the antifederalists were the more federalist federalists who had greater power for the central government and the more affective functions to the states. But the central point is that the great debate focused on limiting the power of the state that passed for having a monopoly of force and could change into a
tyranny. Antifederalists wanted the inclusion of declarations of rights for people, since it believes that the constitution proposed by the federalists would not be able to protect the individual rights of citizens. Their views were finally imposed with the inclusion of declarations of rights in the constitution. These rights related to freedom of expression and freedom of religion. Only when these rights were included in the Constitution did the antifederalists give support to ratify the United States Constitution
he enduring debate is a book that was written by John J. Coleman. It outlines the issues and the existing readings in the history of American politics. The politics of America have been defined by a number of great articles from great philosophers. Some of the writers who wrote about the constitution in America include former presidents such as James Madison. Chapter 3 of the book talks about federalism. Federalism is a form of government that advocates for two or more units to contribute equally to the control of one geographical region. Federal government advocates for sharing of power between the central government and the other units of governance. The discussion below is the summary of the readings on federalism.
Both groups came to agreement and agreed that there needed to be a stronger authority requiring an independent salary to function. They both also agreed that they needed to raise safeguards against the tyranny. The anti-Federalists would not agree to the new Constitution without the “Bill of Rights.” The Federalists ended up including the Bill of Rights into the Constitution. The Bill of Rights protects the freedoms of people. It reassured the anti-Federalists the government could not abuse their power by taking it out on the people. The Federalists included the Bill of Rights to get the anti-Federalists votes and support in the Constitution to actually get it
The Federalists and Anti-federalists shared the common beliefs of John Locke’s Enlightenment ideals such as all men were born equal (even though most of these men owned slaves), but their opinions about the role of government were different. Both parties had their own visions of how a new government would function and how the Constitution would support the government being proposed. Many argued that the Articles of Confederation had created a very weak government with very limited power. Specifically, the amount of power or the absence of power of a central government was the main disagreement between the Federalists and Anti-federalists. As a result, the Federalists and Anti-federalists argued about the ratification of a new constitution, which would give the central government more power.
As everyone can see, the Federalist papers and Anti-Federalist papers have made some good and acceptable changes to politics. Although there was much dispute and arguing, the Federalists won and the Constitution was ratified. The date of ratification was September 17, 1787. One of the main reasons the Federalists won was their strong government. On the other hand, the Anti-Federalists lacked a well-organized government. Whatever the outcome, everyone can easily say the Federalist and Anti-Federalists both put a lot of time and effort in their papers and stood up for what they believed in.
Our powerpoint states that the Federalists were led by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. The Anti-Federalists on the other hand, did not agree. The powerpoint mentions that they attacked every area of the Constitution, but two of its features attracted the most criticism. One was the extremely increased powers of the central government. The second included the lack of “bill of rights” that would have provided necessary liberties including freedom of speech and religion.
After the Constitution was written, the new born nation was immediately split into two political sides, the federalists and the anti-federalists, over the ratification. Federalists, southern planters or people that tended to hold interest in trade, advocated a strong executive. On the other hand, anti-federalists, back country people or people involved in business but not in the mercantile economy, opposed the ratification of the constitution. The two sides, after much debate, were able to come to a compromise after the Bill of Rights was included into the Constitution.
From 1787-1790 the development of the American Constitution was a battle between two opposing political philosophies. America’s best political minds gathered in Philadelphia and other cities in the Northeast in order to find common ground in a governmental structure. The Federalists and the Anti-Federalists had both some political thoughts that agreed as well as some political thoughts that disagreed. However, both parties would compromise and ultimately come together.
Anti –federalist believed that with out the bill of rights, the national government would became a to strong it would threating the americans peoples rights and libertys. Due to prior american revolution, ant-federalist did not forget what they fought for an believed that with a stronger national government, the president could become kind if he wanted. During this time people still feared a strong central government, due to british occupany of the states. Concidently the of people who wanted the bill of rights and were anti-federalist were famers and the working class, as to the fedarlist were extremely rich and powerful people Thomas Jeferson who was a active anti-federalist once wrote to james Madison A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular; and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inferences. (Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1787. ME 6:388, Papers
Republicanism brought change to America, but called into question was the way this change was brought to America. James Madison through the Virginia Plan proposed a republic nation. The formation of the Republican opposition in the 1790’s continued the legacy of the American Revolution. Even though a republican government meant everyone in America would be under the same government it took away the “individual” freedom they fought for in the revolution but this government is representative of the people. Madison had a vision of an “extended republic” that would include everyone, however he would need a lot of support in order to get this republic. “Over the course of 1790’s, Jefferson and Madison would help turn their objections to Hamilton's
The Federalist wanted to ratify the Constitution while the Antifederalist despised the idea entirely. Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay eventually compiled 85 essays as the Federalist Papers. These supporters of the Constitution believed that the checks and balances system (a system in which the different parts of an organization (such as a government) have powers that affect and control the other parts so that no part can become too powerful )would allow a strong central government to preserve states' rights. They felt that the Articles of Confederation was too weak and that they were in need for a change. The Articles of Confederation had “errors” that needed to be corrected argued the Federalist. Ratifying the Constitution lead to an improved more advanced country.
The federalists view saw the republicans view as a weakness. They insisted on a stronger common government. The federalists had an understanding that there could only be one sovereign in a political system, one final authority that everyone must obey and no one can appeal. They thought this was the only effective way in creating an effective central government. The independent states seemed to think it was clear that each one of them were independently sovereign, although based on history only small countries were suitable for the republican government. With history proving the republicans wrong for trying to create a republican government in the states the federalists were slowly trying to create a stronger central government. There first step was making the sovereign states agree to the Articles of Confederation which established a close alliance of independent states. The federalist central government was referred to as a “confederacy”.
While the Federalists believe in a strong, central government, the Anti-Federalists believe in the shared power of state and national governments to maintain the rights of all Americans .The Anti-Federalist favored a confederated government were the state and national governments could share power ,protect citizen’s freedom ,and independence. The Anti-Federalists found many problems in the Constitution. Many were concerned the central government take was all individual rights. Anti-Federalist primarily consisted of farmers and tradesmen and was less likely to be a part of the wealthy elite than were members of their rival the Federalist. Many Anti-federalists were local politicians who feared losing power should the Constitution be ratified and argued that senators that served for too long and represented excessively large territories would cause senators to forget what their responsibilities were for that state. They argued that the Constitution would give the country an entirely new and unknown form of government and saw no reason in throwing out the current government. Instead, they believed that the Federalists had over-stated the current problems of the country and wanted improved characterization of power allowable to the states. They also maintained that the Framers of the Constitution had met as a discriminatory group under an order of secrecy and had violated the stipulations of the Articles of Confederation in the hopes for the for ratification of the Constitution. The Anti-Federalist were sure that the Constitution would take away the rights of the American citizens and fought hard to stop the ratification on the
Federalism, by definition, is the division of government authority between at least two levels of government. In the United States, authority is divided between the state and national government. “Advocates of a strong federal system believe that the state and local governments do not have the sophistication to deal with the major problems facing the country” (Encarta.com).
In 1783, the U.S. was a country forming in its premature stages. By 1787, this baby begins to develop, to become a nation. By 1787, people perceived that their constitution represented what the people desired the U.S. to be; well at least the Federalists presumed this. The Anti-Federalists watched for signs that threatened their "republican principals" for which they so recently had fought the American Revolution. After winning the war the unity and optimism among Americans did not translate easily or smoothly into the creation of a strong central government. The Federalists and Anti-Feds were very opposed to eachother's views. By the late 1700's and early 1800's, a deep political division had occurred amongst the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists.
Overall, the benefits of the federalism far exceed the anti-federalist movement’s causes. Federalism provides a much more organized and uniform government and promotes harmony between states and the central government by allowing them to work together. Sharing the burden between both federal and state authorities allows each governing body to handle their respective priorities more efficiently while at the same time sharing power to avoid having one ruling body that has so much power and opportunity to become tyrannical. I believe that if the founding fathers were alive they very day, they would pat each other in the back and acknowledge the progress that has been made.