Warren's Opposition To The Constitution Ratification Explained

Mercy Otis Warren opposed ratifying the new US Constitution, taking issue with its technical shortcomings and the fact that it lacked a bill of rights. Warren's political views were Republican and anti-Federalist, and she believed that the new Constitution would undermine the liberties that Americans had fought for during the American Revolution. She anonymously published her anti-Federalist arguments in a pamphlet called *Observations on the New Constitution* in 1788.

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Mercy Otis Warren was a Republican, not a Federalist

Warren's political views were anti-federalist. She anonymously published the pamphlet *Observations on the New Constitution* in 1788, in which she raised standard anti-federalist concerns, including a lack of a bill of rights in the new constitution. She attacked the assumptions behind the entire proposed government outlined in the new constitution, making sweeping criticisms that went beyond the more measured criticisms typically made by other anti-federalists.

Warren's opposition to the new Constitution affected her friendship with John and Abigail Adams. Adams' work, *Defense of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America*, was regarded by many anti-federalists as a defence of the monarchy and a disavowal of the political ideals fought for in the American Revolution. On the part of the Adamses, they resented James Warren's early retirement from government service and became suspicious of the couple's patriotism and loyalty.

She criticised the Constitution for its technical shortcomings

Mercy Otis Warren opposed ratifying the U.S. Constitution because she was a Republican, not a Federalist, in her political views. She criticised the Constitution for its technical shortcomings, anonymously publishing her anti-federalist arguments in a pamphlet called *Observations on the New Constitution* in 1788. In the pamphlet, she raised standard anti-federalist concerns, including a lack of a bill of rights in the new constitution. She attacked the assumptions behind the entire proposed government outlined in the new constitution, making sweeping criticisms that the new constitution left too much room for human error, corruption and greed. She also argued that the Constitution's framers sought to undermine the liberties that Americans had only recently defended from British encroachment.

She believed the Constitution weakened American liberties

Mercy Otis Warren opposed ratifying the U.S. Constitution because she was a Republican, not a Federalist, in her political views. She and her husband, James Warren, felt compelled to make arguments against ratification, each anonymously publishing their own anti-federalist arguments.

Warren believed the Constitution weakened American liberties. She criticised the entire proposed government outlined in the new constitution, arguing that it left too much room for human error, corruption and greed. She also raised standard anti-federalist concerns, including a lack of a bill of rights in the new constitution. In her pamphlet, *Observations on the New Constitution*, Warren attacked the assumptions behind the proposed government, arguing that the Constitution's framers sought to undermine the liberties that Americans had only recently defended from British encroachment. She believed that the fundamental principle of a free government was the equal representation of a free people.

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She anonymously published anti-federalist arguments

Mercy Otis Warren opposed ratifying the U.S. Constitution because she was a Republican, not a Federalist, in her political views. She anonymously published anti-federalist arguments in a pamphlet called *Observations on the New Constitution* in 1788. Warren criticised the new constitution for leaving too much room for human error, corruption and greed. She also raised standard anti-federalist concerns, including a lack of a bill of rights. Warren's pamphlet attacked the assumptions behind the entire proposed government outlined in the new constitution. She believed that the constitution weakened the liberties that Americans had only recently defended from British encroachment. She argued that the fundamental principle of a free government is the equal representation of a free people.

She criticised the Constitution for leaving too much room for human error, corruption and greed

Mercy Otis Warren opposed ratifying the U.S. Constitution because she was a Republican, not a Federalist, in her political views. Warren and her husband, James, both felt compelled to make arguments against ratification, each anonymously publishing their own anti-federalist arguments.

In her pamphlet, *Observations on the new Constitution*, Warren criticised the Constitution for leaving too much room for human error, corruption and greed. She raised standard anti-federalist concerns, including a lack of a bill of rights in the new constitution. Warren attacked assumptions behind the entire proposed government outlined in the new constitution, making sweeping criticisms that went beyond more measured criticisms typically made by other anti-federalists. Warren argued that the Constitution's framers sought to undermine the liberties that Americans had only recently defended from British encroachment. She believed that the fundamental principle of a free government was the equal representation of a free people.

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