Eleanor Finch
The Anti-Federalists were a group of people who opposed the ratification of the 1787 U.S. Constitution. They were chiefly concerned with the expansion of national power and the potential threat to individual liberties. The Anti-Federalists included small farmers and landowners, shopkeepers, and labourers. They favoured strong state governments, a weak central government, and the direct election of government officials. They also wanted short term limits for officeholders, accountability by officeholders to popular majorities, and the strengthening of individual liberties.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Too much power invested in the national government | Anti-Federalists wanted strong state governments, a weak central government, and the direct election of government officials |
| Absence of a bill of rights | The Anti-Federalists were concerned that the original text of the Constitution did not contain a bill of rights |
| Lack of representation for the average citizen | The Anti-Federalists believed that the federal government would be too far removed to represent the average citizen |
| Limited national authority | The Anti-Federalists favoured small, localized governments with limited national authority |
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What You'll Learn
Anti-Federalists feared the national government would be too powerful
The Anti-Federalists opposed the ratification of the 1787 U.S. Constitution because they feared that the new national government would be too powerful and thus threaten individual liberties. They believed that the Constitution gave too much power to the federal government, while taking too much power away from state and local governments. They argued that the federal government would be too far removed to represent the average citizen and that the nation was too large for the national government to respond to the concerns of people on a state and local basis.
Anti-Federalists included small farmers and landowners, shopkeepers, and labourers. They favoured strong state governments, a weak central government, the direct election of government officials, short term limits for officeholders, accountability by officeholders to popular majorities, and the strengthening of individual liberties. They did not share one unified position on the proper form of government, but they did unite in their objection to the Constitution as it was proposed for ratification in 1787. They argued against the expansion of national power, favouring small localised governments with limited national authority. They generally believed that a republican government was only possible on the state level and would not work on the national level.
To combat the Federalist campaign, the Anti-Federalists published a series of articles and delivered numerous speeches against ratification of the Constitution. These independent writings and speeches have come to be known collectively as The Anti-Federalist Papers.
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They wanted to protect individual liberties
The Anti-Federalists opposed the ratification of the 1787 U.S. Constitution because they feared that the new national government would be too powerful and thus threaten individual liberties. They believed that the Constitution gave too much power to the federal government, while taking too much power away from state and local governments. They wanted to protect individual liberties by ensuring that the federal government was not too far removed from the average citizen. They argued that the nation was too large for the national government to respond to the concerns of people on a state and local basis.
Anti-Federalists included small farmers and landowners, shopkeepers, and labourers. In national politics, they favoured strong state governments, a weak central government, the direct election of government officials, short term limits for officeholders, accountability by officeholders to popular majorities, and the strengthening of individual liberties. They did not share one unified position on the proper form of government, but they did unite in their objection to the Constitution as it was proposed for ratification in 1787. They argued against the expansion of national power, favouring small localised governments with limited national authority. They generally believed that a republican government was only possible on the state level and would not work on the national level. Therefore, only a confederacy of the individual states could protect the nation's liberty and freedom.
The Anti-Federalists' opposition to ratifying the Constitution was a powerful force in the origin of the Bill of Rights to protect Americans' civil liberties. Their opposition was an important factor leading to the adoption of the First Amendment and the other nine amendments that constitute the Bill of Rights.
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They wanted to strengthen state governments
The Anti-Federalists did not want to ratify the Constitution because they wanted to strengthen state governments. They believed that the new national government would be too powerful and threaten individual liberties. They were chiefly concerned with too much power being invested in the national government at the expense of states. They wanted strong state governments, a weak central government, the direct election of government officials, short term limits for officeholders, accountability by officeholders to popular majorities, and the strengthening of individual liberties. They argued against the expansion of national power and believed that a republican government was only possible on the state level. They felt that the federal government would be too far removed to represent the average citizen.
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They wanted to weaken the central government
The Anti-Federalists did not want to ratify the Constitution because they wanted to weaken the central government. They feared that the new national government would be too powerful and threaten individual liberties. They believed that a strong central government would be too far removed to represent the average citizen and that the nation was too large for the national government to respond to the concerns of people on a state and local basis. They wanted to protect the nation's liberty and freedom, and so favoured small, localised governments with limited national authority. They also wanted the direct election of government officials, short term limits for officeholders, and accountability by officeholders to popular majorities.
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They wanted to protect the nation's liberty and freedom
The Anti-Federalists did not want to ratify the Constitution because they wanted to protect the nation's liberty and freedom. They believed that the new national government would be too powerful and threaten individual liberties. They were chiefly concerned with too much power being invested in the national government at the expense of states. They argued against the expansion of national power and favoured small, localised governments with limited national authority. They believed that a republican government was only possible on the state level and would not work on the national level. They also wanted the direct election of government officials, short term limits for officeholders, accountability by officeholders to popular majorities, and the strengthening of individual liberties.
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Frequently asked questions
The Anti-Federalists were concerned that the Constitution gave too much power to the federal government, threatening individual liberties. They wanted strong state governments and a weak central government.
The Anti-Federalists wanted small, localised governments with limited national authority. They believed that a republican government was only possible on a state level.
The Anti-Federalists included small farmers and landowners, shopkeepers, and labourers. They were less organised than the Federalists and did not share one unified position on the proper form of government.
The Anti-Federalists published a series of articles and delivered numerous speeches against ratification of the Constitution. They also advocated their position under pseudonyms.
The Federalists ultimately prevailed, and the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1788 and went into effect in 1789. However, the Anti-Federalists' opposition was an important factor leading to the adoption of the Bill of Rights.
