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the dispute between the federalist and the anti-federalist
the dispute between the federalist and the anti-federalist
the dispute between the federalist and the anti-federalist
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Feniben Patel “The Conflict over the Constitution” The United States is known as the land of freedom, which permits, everyone to have their own opinions, and allows everyone to be able to convey them to others, this is permitted by the Constitution. The founding fathers had many contrasting point of views, regarding the formation of the Constitution. Patrick Henry, and James Madison had very diverse point of view, with regards to the government of the recently independent colonies. The United States government is based on federalism. Federalism is a system of government in which the national and the state government share the power to govern its people. After the French and Indian war, which concluded in 1763, England was in debt. To pay the …show more content…
There were who favored the federalist system, while others were anti- federalist. Federalist were those who supported the idea of states and national government sharing the power to govern, Anti-federalist were those who were against the Constitution, because the Constitution was based on federalism. James Madison and Patrick Henry were part of the fifty-five men who attended the meeting in Philadelphia, in 1787. Patrick Henry, was an Anti Federalist. Anti Federalist feared that if the national government gains too much power, and it would became a threat to the people, like the British Parliament was. Patrick Henry’s family was not as rich like families of other founding fathers. Patrick Henry received an ordinary, but he spend most of his time in the wood, learning basic survival techniques (Pg 69). He also gave the very famous, speech “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” in 1775 (pg 69). Most Anti Federalist were loyal was towards the state and not towards the national government. Patrick Henry believed the federalist were “rich and the elite”, and wanted the power for themselves (pg 74). Patrick Henry said in a speech to virginia convention on june 4
All of the framer of the U.S. Constitution had one thing in common, they all felt that the government didn't have enough power. At the same time they didn't want to give the government to much power. They all knew if there was power to be held someone was going to hold it and over use it The framers didn't want to create a system like Britain or England.
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
The American Revolution holds a very prominent place in the history of this country, as it was the longest and the most painful war Americans ever encountered. It took many years and numerous conflicts to finally gain independence in 1776 from British domination, which had been subjugating its colonies with laws of an unwritten constitution. It must be understood that though Americans were fighting for the right of democracy and each state wanted self-government, later that same issue turned into a big problem. Soon after America became independent, the former British colonies decided to form their own governments. It was then that the real battle began. The task of forming separate constitutions for each state, along with the formation of governmental institutions, turned in to a huge task -- a task so gigantic that it forced some states to rethink the matter and soon the rumors of a central government started circulating.
The anti- federalists did not want such a strong government that was built by the aspects of the U.S. constitution. Thomas wanted the main government branch to be focus around the principles of freedom. Alexander Hamilton did not intend to force people to do anything they did not want to do. Alexander saw freedom uncontrollable and that it would be chaotic at times. Hamilton wanted to have pre-cautions set in motion. Thomas Jefferson wanted the people to choose their path and deal with problems accordingly. The Federalists were the most powerful political party, while the anti-federalists had aspects that were built around choice.
This group of supporters was mainly compiled up of farmers, share croppers, and tradesmen. The Anti-Federalists believed that each state should have their own independent government. They were led by Patrick Henry and George Mason. Anti-federalists argued that the new Constitution would eventually lead to the disbanding state governments, the consolidation of the Union into one national government, and as a result would put an end to all forms of self-rule in the states. In debating their arguments, the Anti-Federalists often relied on the expressions and ideas from the Revolutionary War era. This was an example of a centralized national (government) power with an overbearing monarch. They claimed that the United States Constitution represented a step away from the democratic goals of the American Revolution and a step towards monarchy and aristocracy. The Anti-Federalists feared that the Constitution would take away Congress’s power and give it all to the president. Many Anti-Federalists supported a type of government known as agrarian republicanism. This type of government is centered around a society of farmers who participate in local
Patrick Henry opposed the U.S. Constitution because he believed that it gave too much power to the central government they wanted a weaker government very worried the constitution did not provide enough protection for the rights of individuals. Worried about the consolidation of power into one government and the corruption that could be involved.
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
Large farmers, Merchants, and Artisans made up a large majority of this group. Some important Federalist were Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. The Antifederalist on the other had had only a small people group because that was as much as they could handle to hold rights. Looking at it, the group was small because the larger they became they would have more opinions, and this would only cause for internal conflict. Opposed to the Federalist that could put all conflict on the Constitution. The Antifederalist were made up on small farmers in rural areas because they probably could not get any communication out. Some important Antifederalist were Patrick Henry, George Mason, and Richard Henry
The U.S. Constitution has a unique history. Facing drafts and ratifications it was finally created under the founding fathers in 1787. The constitution is the foundation for the government we have today and influences almost every decision that government officials make. However, before the constitution was influencing, it was influenced. The political, economic, and diplomatic crises of the 1780s not only helped shape America, but also the provisions found the constitution.
After the American Revolutionary War, the founding fathers had to build a government from scratch. It is not surprising that many of who were lawyers, relied on the English constitution as the foundation since it was familiar to them. Based on this, the founders drew up the Articles of Confederation in 1781 as the first national law. It was considered weak because it placed too much power in the hands of individual states without establishing an effective national government. The founders wanted a republican form of government where voters would elect officials to represent them. Many, like George Washington, were Federalists.
The debate between the Anti-Federalists and Federalists is important because it provides us insight on how the United States Constitution was built and how it was changed. A reason why this debate is so important to understand is because there are people today who don’t agree with the government having so much power. Once one understands what started the disagreement between the two groups of politicians, one will see how both sides sealed the deal for our constitution that we still follow today. I have decided to speak about the Anti-Federalists first because this group of men stood out to me as being very intelligent, creative and brave but unfortunately their plan to help Americans wasn’t successful. Patrick Henry and George Mason, some of the few influential figures, were all about “supporting the American needs”. Originally called the “Federalists” in 1781, they were the first American National Government called the Articles of Confederation, which gave all thirteen states’ government more authority and freedom. The Federalists main concerns were to make sure Americans kept their liberty and states become one Union. The Anti-Federalists main concerns were to make sure Americans had their freedom but have separate Unions. Although the Federalists and Anti-Federalists were different,
Regarding the Constitution, the Federalists and Anti-federalists (otherwise known as the Democratic-Republican Party or the Jeffersonians), held drastically different opinions.2 The Federalists, for one, believed in a strict interpretation of the Constitution, where only those words directly stated in the Constitution were to grant permission for pow...
The Anti-Federalist Party, led by Patrick Henry, objected to the constitution. They objected to it for a few basic reasons. Mostly the Anti-Federalists thought that the Constitution created too strong a central government. They felt that the Constitution did not create a Federal government, but a single national government. They were afraid that the power of the states would be lost and that the people would lose their individual rights because a few individuals would take over. They proposed a “Bill of Rights”, to make sure the citizens were protected by the law. They believed that no Bill of Rights would be equal to no check on our government for the people.
The Anti-Federalists were not in favor of ratifying the new Constitution. Some Anti-Federalists wanted to keep the Articles of Confederation, others wanted to add some things and change some things in the new Constitution before they agreed to ratify it. Some very important Anti-Federalist’s were Patrick Henry, George Mason, and Richard Henry Lee. Anti-Federalists tended to be poorer and in lower classes than the Federalists. These people feared a central government and were afraid that the government proposed by the new Constitution could easily turn into a tyranny. The Federalists argued that the United States needed a strong central government in order to stand a chance against foreign powers, amongst other reasons that were all beneficial
In 1777, Members of Congress felt the need to have some written documentation that showed and explained exactly how they were organized and operated. According to U.S. History, “The Articles of Confederation were passed by the Congress in November, but the first national constitution for the U.S. was in written form about how Congress had operated since 1775,” (Articles of Confederation, n.d., para.2). The Constitution was a very controversial document because for one, it was something new they were introducing and a lot of change was going to come from it. The Constitution was changing how things were run, what were and were not the rights of the people, and