Isabella Carter
The Federalists, supporters of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, believed that a stronger national government was necessary to safeguard the liberty and independence that the American Revolution had created. They saw the Articles of Confederation as weak and indicative of the instability a nation will face without a strong centralized government. They also believed that the greatest threat to the future of the United States was not in the abuse of central power, but in the excesses of democracy. They advocated for the Implied Powers of the President within the Constitution, alongside Federal Supremacy, and believed that the federal courts would protect citizens from government abuse and guarantee their liberty.
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What You'll Learn
The Constitution as a safeguard
Federalists believed that the US Constitution was required to safeguard the liberty and independence that the American Revolution had brought about. They saw their role as defending the social gains of the Revolution. Federalist supporters included big property owners in the North, conservative small farmers and businessmen, wealthy merchants, clergymen, judges, lawyers, and professionals. They wanted a strong union and a strong central government, with weaker state governments. They also wanted the indirect election of government officials, longer term limits for officeholders, and representative democracy.
The Federalists were aware that the problems of the 1780s stemmed from the weaknesses of the central government created by the Articles of Confederation. They believed that the Articles of Confederation were weak and indicative of the instability a nation will face without a strong centralized government. They advocated for the Implied Powers of the President within the Constitution, alongside Federal Supremacy.
Federalists also believed that the federal courts would protect citizens from government abuse and guarantee their liberty. They wanted to divide the government into separate branches, with checks and balances, so that no one branch or person could get too powerful. They argued that the Constitution was to act as a safeguard to prevent a tyrant from taking power.
When challenged over the lack of individual liberties, Federalists argued that the Constitution already contained protections for individual liberties in Article I, Sections 9 and 10, which limited Congress and the states. They also argued that the entire Constitution, with its institutional restraints and checks and balances, was, in effect, a Bill of Rights. They further contended that because it would be impossible to list all the rights afforded to Americans, it would be best to list none.
Federalists' Defense Strategies: Protecting the Constitution
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Federalism and central power
The Federalists believed that the greatest threat to the future of the United States was not the abuse of central power, but the excesses of democracy, as evidenced by popular disturbances like Shays' Rebellion and pro-debtor policies of many states. They wanted to safeguard the liberty and independence that the American Revolution had created and saw their most important role as defending the social gains of the Revolution. They believed that federal courts would protect citizens from government abuse and guarantee their liberty.
To address concerns about centralised power, the Federalists pointed to the system of checks and balances in the Constitution, which would prevent any one branch or person from becoming too powerful. They also argued that the entire Constitution, with its institutional restraints, was effectively a Bill of Rights, and that listing specific rights would be impractical since it would be impossible to list all the rights afforded to Americans.
The Federalist Party, formed by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison, advocated for a strong national government, an expansive interpretation of congressional powers, and a more mercantile economy. They supported Hamilton's aggressive fiscal policies and believed in the Implied Powers of the President within the Constitution and Federal Supremacy. They also promoted the ratification of the Jay Treaty to maintain stable relations with Britain.
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Checks and balances
The Federalists believed that the US Constitution was required to safeguard the liberty and independence that the American Revolution had brought about. They saw their role as defending the social gains of the Revolution. Federalists, including big property owners in the North, conservative small farmers and businessmen, wealthy merchants, clergymen, judges, lawyers, and professionals, supported a strong union and the adoption of the Constitution. They advocated for weaker state governments and a strong centralized government, with the power divided between the national government and the state governments.
Federalists believed that the greatest threat to the future of the United States was not in the abuse of central power, but in the excesses of democracy, as evidenced by popular disturbances like Shays' Rebellion and the pro-debtor policies of many states. They believed that the federal courts would protect citizens from government abuse and guarantee their liberty.
To prevent a concentration of power, Federalists divided the government into three separate branches: the legislative, the executive, and the judiciary. Each branch serves as a check on the powers of the other two, thus creating a system of checks and balances. This system was designed to prevent any one branch or person from becoming too powerful.
The Federalists also believed that the Constitution itself, with its institutional restraints and checks and balances, was effectively a Bill of Rights. They argued that because it would be impossible to list all the rights afforded to Americans, it was best to list none. They further argued that the Constitution did not include a bill of rights because it did not give the new government the authority to suppress individual liberties.
Federalists' Reaction to the Constitution Ratification
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Individual liberties
The Federalists believed that the US Constitution was required to safeguard the liberty and independence that the American Revolution had created. They saw their most important role as defending the social gains of the Revolution.
Federalists such as James Madison promised to add amendments specifically protecting individual liberties to ensure the adoption of the Constitution. These amendments became the Bill of Rights. Madison introduced proposals that were incorporated in 12 amendments by Congress in 1789. States ratified 10 of these amendments, now designated as the Bill of Rights, in 1791. The first of these amendments contains guarantees of freedom of religion, speech, press, peaceable assembly, and petition and has also been interpreted to protect the right of association.
Federalists believed that the greatest threat to the future of the United States was not in the abuse of central power, but in the excesses of democracy. They wanted to protect individual rights from government abuse, referred to in the Declaration of Independence as "unalienable rights," "natural rights," and to James Madison, "the great rights of mankind."
When challenged over the lack of individual liberties, Federalists argued that the Constitution already contained protections in Article I, Sections 9 and 10, that respectively limited Congress and the states. They also argued that the entire Constitution, with its institutional restraints and checks and balances, was, in effect, a Bill of Rights. They further argued that because it would be impossible to list all the rights afforded to Americans, it would be best to list none.
Federalists believed that bills of rights in history had been nothing more than paper protections, useless when they were most needed. They also believed that the Constitution did not include a bill of rights because the new Constitution did not vest the new government with the authority to suppress individual liberties.
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Economic policies
The Federalists, supporters of the Constitution, believed in a strong central government, and their economic policies reflected this. They saw the Articles of Confederation as weak and indicative of the instability a nation faces without a strong centralized government. They advocated for the Implied Powers of the President within the Constitution and Federal Supremacy.
Alexander Hamilton, a key figure in the Federalist Party, influenced the Federalist economic thought with his previous experience as Secretary of the Treasury. The Federalist Party's policies focused on the national economy, addressing the war debts of the Revolutionary War, and the debts of individual states. Hamilton convinced the Washington administration to assume national and state debts, pass tax laws, and create a central bank.
Federalist economic policies included import tariffs and taxation of shipping tonnage to generate revenue while protecting US industries. They also established public credit through public securities, which were a type of bond that investors had to repay with interest. This helped the federal government pay off state debts and established credit with international and domestic investors. The Federalists also established the First National Bank in 1791 to ensure a safe and fair system of trading and exchanging securities through a stable national currency.
The Federalists supported a more mercantile economy and an expansive interpretation of congressional powers under the Constitution through the elastic clause. They believed that a strong central government was necessary to save the fledgling democracy from poverty and destruction. They also believed that the greatest threat to the future of the United States was not the abuse of central power but the excesses of democracy, as evidenced by popular disturbances and pro-debtor policies of many states.
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Frequently asked questions
Federalists believed that the US Constitution was required to safeguard the liberty and independence that the American Revolution had created.
Federalists believed that the greatest threat to the future of the United States was not central power but the excesses of democracy, as evidenced in popular disturbances like Shays' Rebellion.
The Federalist Party saw the Articles of Confederation as weak and indicative of the instability a nation will face without a strong centralized government.
The Federalist Party was against the inclusion of a Bill of Rights in the Constitution, arguing that it was impossible to list all the rights afforded to Americans and that the entire Constitution was, in effect, a Bill of Rights.
The Federalist Party was horrified at the actions of Revolutionary France and keen on repairing and maintaining a stable relationship with Britain.
