Who Were The Opponents of Federalism

•    The newly proposed United States Constitution was not well received by all Americans in 1787. Some people absolutely detested it, especially the Anti-Federalists.

 

•    A group of Americans known as the Anti-Federalists opposed the establishment of a more powerful federal government in the United States and opposed the ultimate ratification of the U.S. Constitution as adopted by the Constitutional Convention in 1787. 

 

•    The Anti-Federalists favored a system of government that was similar to that established in 1781 by the Articles of Confederation, which gave state governments the predominance of power. 

 

•    The Anti-Federalists, led by Virginia's Patrick Henry, a prominent colonial supporter of American independence from England, feared, among other things, that the Constitution's powers granted to the federal government could allow the President of the United States to act as king, transforming the government into a monarchy. 

 

•    The fact that most of the world's governments were still monarchies and the role of a "president" remained largely undefined in 1789 can help to explain this dread to some extent. 

 

The term "federal," which emerged during the American Revolution, simply applied to any citizen who supported the union of the 13 American colonies under British authority and the government established by the Articles of Confederation.

 

Following the Revolution, a section of Americans dubbed themselves "Federalists" because they believed that the federal government established by the Articles of Confederation should be strengthened.

 

Each state was given "sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right not specifically delegated to the United States" by the Articles of Confederation, which established the confederation of states. 

 

The new United States, operating under the Articles of Confederation, had won the American Revolution, earning their independence from Britain. However, a number of flaws in the Articles of Confederation that could endanger the new country's independence quickly surfaced. 

 

These flaws included some of the more obvious ones, such as:

•    Taxation was not an authority that Congress had.

 

•    Foreign and interstate commerce could not be regulated by Congress.

 

•    There was no executive branch to carry out the legislation that Congress passed.

 

•    There was no judicial department or national court system.

 

Each state regarded its own sovereignty and innate powers as essential to the overall common good of the country under the Articles of Confederation. The states frequently argued over this notion as a result. 

 

Additionally, the states were reluctant to support the federal government financially and frequently refused to do so.

 

The term "Anti-Federalists" first appeared when the Federalists tried to rewrite the Articles of Confederation to give the federal government more authority.

 

Many of the Anti-Federalists, who are closely related to those who support the more contemporary political idea of "states' rights," feared that the strong central government made possible by the Constitution would endanger the popular sovereignty and independence of the various states, localities, or individual citizens. 

 

Other anti-federalists perceived the projected new, powerful central government as a clone of the British monarchy that would soon endanger their civil freedoms and individual rights. Others thought that the national government would be too strong under the Constitution because the national government under the Articles of Confederation was too weak. 

 

They believed that the new Constitution established a centralized government rather than a federal one, in which two levels of government exercise a variety of power over the same geographical area. 

 

James Madison acknowledged in ‘’The Federalist Papers’’ that the union of Free states established by the Articles of Confederation was a real federal form of government. 

 

The Federalists, who supported the Constitution, and the Anti-Federalists, who opposed it, engaged in a larger national debate in speeches and enormous collections of written essays as the individual states discussed ratifying the Constitution.

 

The Federalist Papers, authored by John Jay, James Madison, and/or Alexander Hamilton, are the best-known of these essays. The Anti-Federalist Papers, written by authors using aliases such "Brutus" (Robert Yates) and "Federal Farmer" (Richard Henry Lee), criticized the Constitution. 

 

The Anti-Federalist side gained prominence when renowned revolutionary patriot Patrick Henry expressed his opposition to the Constitution during the height of the discussion.

 

In some states more than others, the Anti-Federalists' arguments made an impact. North Carolina and Rhode Island held out until it was clear that ultimate ratification was certain, whereas Delaware, Georgia, and New Jersey swiftly voted to ratify the Constitution. 

 

When more than 1,000 armed Anti-Federalists marched into Providence in Rhode Island, opposition to the Constitution almost descended into violence. Several states urged the incorporation of a specific bill of rights into the Constitution out of fear that a powerful federal government may curtail citizens' individual freedoms. 

 

For instance, Massachusetts only consented to ratify the Constitution if it would be changed to include a bill of rights. New Hampshire, Virginia, and New York also made their ratification contingent on the Constitution's inclusion of a bill of rights.

 

Congress sent a list of 12 amendments to the bill of rights to the states for their approval as soon as the Constitution was ratified in 1789. The eleven amendments that later became known as the Bill of Rights were swiftly passed by the states. One of the two amendments that were not approved in 1789 eventually evolved into the 1992-ratified 27th Amendment.

 

Some former Anti-Federalists joined the Anti-Administration Party, which was founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison to oppose the banking and financial policies of Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, after the Constitution and Bill of Rights were finally ratified. 

 

Jefferson and Madison would go on to become the third and fourth Presidents of the United States, and the Anti-Administration Party would soon morph into the Democratic-Republican Party. Therefore, even though the Anti-Federalists' attempt to prevent the adoption of the Constitution was unsuccessful, their efforts were not entirely in vain. 

 

The Anti-Federalists established their influence among the American Founding Fathers by gaining the incorporation of the Bill of Rights into the Constitution.

 

The proposed Constitution's powers granted to the federal government were generally seen differently by Federalists and Anti-Federalists. 

 

•    Federalists tended to be successful businesspeople, traders, or plantation owners. They were in favor of a strong central government with more power over the populace than the several state administrations.

 

•    The majority of anti-federalists were farmers. They desired a less powerful federal government that would primarily support state governments by performing fundamental duties like defense, international relations, and foreign policy formulation.

 

There were more distinct differences:

•    The U.S. Supreme Court should have original jurisdiction over disputes between states and between a state and a person of another state, according to the federalists' vision of a robust federal court system. 

 

•    The U.S. Supreme Court should not consider cases regarding state laws, according to anti-federalists, who advocated for a more constrained federal judiciary system.

 

•    Federalists favored giving the federal government the authority to impose and collect taxes from the general populace. They held the opinion that the ability to tax was essential for financing the nation's security and paying off foreign debt.

 

•    The power was challenged by anti-federalists because they feared it would enable the federal government to rule the people and the states through oppressive taxes rather than through representative government.

 

•    The Federalists favored giving the federal government the authority to formulate and carry out American commercial policies. 

 

•    Commercial policies and regulations created to meet the demands of the many states were preferred by anti-federalists. They were concerned that a powerful central government may use its unrestricted control over commerce to unfairly reward or punish particular states or subjugate one part of the country to another. 

 

George Mason, an anti-federalist, suggested that the U.S. Congress should demand a three-fourths supermajority vote in both the House and Senate before passing any commercial control regulations. Because the provision was absent, he subsequently declined to sign the Constitution.

 

•    Federalists favored giving the federal government the authority to federalize state militias in times of national emergency.

 

•    The authority was contested by anti-federalists who believed the states should have complete control over their militias. 

 

The Anti-Federalists tried their hardest, but they were unable to stop the ratification of the United States Constitution in 1789. Few of the Anti-Federalists' articles are still taught in college curriculum or referenced in court decisions, unlike, for instance, James Madison's Federalist No. 10 upholding the Constitution's republican form of government. 

 

The United States Bill of Rights, however, is a tangible example of the Anti-Federalists' influence. Although key Federalists, like as Alexander Hamilton, vehemently argued against its passage in Federalist No. 84, the Anti-Federalists ultimately won. Many Americans' great skepticism of a powerful centralized government today is evidence of the Anti-Federalists' core principles.