Dbq Ap Government

AP Government Paper #1 Essay Question #3
When the Framers first constructed the Constitution, they intended to expand the power of the national government so it could gain a reasonable amount power to govern the citizens of the new country, America. While the position of more power to the national government was favored by Federalists, Anti-Federalists had a different idea of the kind of power that should be delegated to the government. This dispute over the idea of power in the national government led to compromises between the two parties in order to win ratification for the federalists and rights for the states too for the Anti-Federalists.
The Constitution was created by Federalists with the intent to broaden the power of the federal

government. They wanted a strong centralized government to stimulate business and industry, protect natural rights such as life, liberty, and property, and to ensure the payment of public debt. Federalists consisted primarily of rich land and property owners, merchants, and the overall elite.

They wanted a strong central government in order to maintain their economic interests and elite status. The Federalists strongest argument in favor of the Constitution was how a more centralized government can control the national unrest caused by political factions, as seen in The Federalist Papers, No. 10. James Madison, who wrote No. 10 argues, “It clearly appears, that the same advantage which a republic has over a democracy, in controlling the effects of faction, is enjoyed by a large over a small republic,--is enjoyed by the Union over the States composing it”(1). In this argument, Madison explains that with a stronger centralized government, it could control the disputes against different factions that could damage the government by making it more focused on narrow, bias interests rather than broad ones. By controlling the effects of factions, a larger population would be able to live happily rather than if a faction were to gain power and only please its followers and not the nation as a whole. He also explains how that

if “[You] extend the sphere, and you take in a greater variety of parties and interests; you make it less probable that a majority of the whole will have a common motive to invade the rights of other citizens; or if such a common motive exists, it will be more difficult for all who feel it to discover their own strength, and to act in unison with each other”(1). This statement extends the claim that when more interests are involved rather than a few interests of a minority, it broadens the spectrum of the amount of people that can live in content. It is arguing that it is better to think with a bigger picture in mind rather than a small, bias one. With more different varieties factions to look over, it is less likely for one single faction to overrule the others. This argument backs up the claim that with strong majority interests in mind, the less likely it is for the government to become distracted with the interests of one group. With a strong centralized government, it would take some of the rights of the individual in order to please the interests of the majority as a whole.
Anti-Federalists on the other hand fought for stronger states rights at the expense of the federal government.

With a more decentralized government, each state could decide what was in best interest for their citizens. Anti-Federalists consisted of Southern and western farmers and laborers who greatly valued their individual rights and did not want those to be taken away by a large federal government. With the Constitution, they believed their rights and liberties would be taken away. A strong central government would possess too much power and overwhelm the states by overriding their rights, laws, and increase their taxes. The Anti-Federalist Papers No. 3 argued “The facility of corruption is increased in proportion as power tends by representation or delegation, to a concentration in the hands of a few…” (2). It exemplified that with the Constitution delegating power to the few elite, they would worry more about the interests of the broad majority at the expense of the individual. The individual would have to give up his or her rights to the few in power and trust that they will accurately reflect their interests. In order to satisfy Anti-Federalists demands for protection of individual rights, Federalists implemented the Bill of Rights into the Constitution once it was

ratified.