Anti-Federalists: Constitution's Ratification Detractors

The Anti-Federalists opposed the ratification of the Constitution, producing a body of writings arguing against it. These writings were less extensive than The Federalists Papers, and were not written by one small group of men as The Federalist Papers had been.

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The Anti-Federalists

Overall, the Anti-Federalists sought to protect individual liberties, state rights, and economic freedom. They believed that the Constitution, as originally written, did not adequately protect these values and sought to amend it to ensure that the federal government's powers were limited and balanced by the rights of the states and the people.

Whigs

The Whigs emerged in the 1830s in opposition to President Andrew Jackson. They were made up of former Federalists, anti-Masons, and national Republicans who opposed the limited government policies of the Democratic Party. The Whigs favoured an activist national government that would support internal improvements and advocated a broad programme of humanitarian reforms.

In the context of the ratification of the Constitution, the Whigs were linked to the Federalist Party. The Whigs were one of the two dominant political factions in British North America during the colonial and revolutionary periods, along with the Tories. The Whigs generally supported independence and favoured placing limits on the British monarchy, while the Tories became synonymous with loyalists who opposed independence and wished to remain in the British Empire.

The Whigs were a recognisable political party by 1834 and began to win local offices against their Democratic rivals. In the 1836 presidential election, four different Whig candidates received electoral votes, but they failed to defeat Jackson's chosen successor, Martin Van Buren. The Whig nominee William Henry Harrison unseated Van Buren in the 1840 presidential election but died just one month into his term.

The Whigs were opposed to the Anti-Federalists, who argued against the ratification of the Constitution. The Anti-Federalists produced a body of writings arguing against the ratification, but these were not written by one small group of men as the Federalist Papers had been.

Tories

The Anti-Federalists opposed the ratification of the Constitution. They produced a body of writings arguing against it, though these were not written by one small group of men as The Federalist Papers had been.

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Continentalists

The Continentalists, also known as the Anti-Federalists, opposed the ratification of the 1787 Constitution. They were a late-18th-century political movement that was against the creation of a stronger federal government, fearing that it would threaten individual liberties and erode state sovereignty. They believed that the position of president might evolve into a monarchy.

The Anti-Federalists were strong in the key states of Massachusetts, New York, and Virginia, and they prevented ratification of the Constitution in North Carolina and Rhode Island until after the new government had been established. They were generally small farmers from rural areas, rather than the lawyers and merchants that made up the Federalist movement. They believed that almost all executive power should be left to the country's authorities, and that a large central government would not serve the interests of small towns and rural areas.

The Anti-Federalists produced a body of writings arguing against the ratification of the Constitution, but these were not written by one small group of men as the Federalist Papers had been. Their influence helped lead to the passage of the Bill of Rights, and in 1791 they became the nucleus of the Jeffersonian Republican Party.

Democratic-Republicans

The Anti-Federalists opposed the ratification of the Constitution. They produced a body of writings arguing against it, though these were not written by one small group of men as The Federalist Papers had been.

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