Anti-Federalists

Examples of Anti-Federalists in the following topics:

• The Anti-Federalists

  • Anti-Federalists were those opposed to ratification of the US Constitution following the Revolutionary War.
  • These so-called Anti-Federalists rejected the term, arguing that they were the true federalists.
  • However, the Federalists prevailed and Anti-Federalist remained the term of choice for all opposed to amending the Articles of Confederation.
  • Anti-Federalists represented diverse, though similar, opinions.
  • The Anti-Federalists appealed to these sentiments in the ratification convention in Massachusetts.

• The Anti-Federalists

  • As the Federalists moved forward with their efforts to amend the Articles, they applied the term "Anti-Federalist" to this type of opposition.
  • The Anti-Federalists rejected the term, arguing that they were the true Federalists.
  • For example, an unknown Anti-Federalist signed his public correspondence as "A Federal Farmer" and the New York committee opposing the Constitution was called the "Federal Republican Committee. " However, the Federalists prevailed and the name Anti-Federalist stuck to their opposition.
  • The Anti-Federalists played upon these feelings in the ratification convention in Massachusetts.
  • Anti-Federalists are thus credited with pressuring Federalists to concede the U.S.

• The Ratification of the Constitution

  • Those who favored ratification of the Constitution were known as Federalists, while those who opposed it were considered Anti- Federalists.
  • Those who favored ratification were known as Federalists, while those who opposed it were considered Anti-Federalists.
  • The Senate of 11 states included 20 Federalists to two Virginian Anti-Federalists.
  • Patrick Henry was a Revolutionary War hero and prominent Anti-Federalist from Virginia.
  • Compare the political concerns of the Federalist with that of the Anti-Federalist

• The Ratification Debate

  • The process of ratifying the proposed United States Constitution led to prolonged debate between Federalists and Anti-Federalists.
  • Two parties soon developed: Federalists in support of the Constitution and Anti-Federalists opposed.
  • The Federalists succeeded owing largely to Hamilton's efforts to reach a number of key compromises with moderate Anti-Federalists.
  • These included Virginia's elector, the Anti-Federalist Patrick Henry.
  • The newly elected Congress was a victory for Federalists, as the Senate included 20 Federalists and two Anti-Federalists, and the House would seat 48 Federalists and just 11 Anti-Federalists.

• The Federalists

  • However, for Anti-Federalists, the Constitution represented an encroachment on the legislative autonomy of the states.
  • Certainly the Federalist papers were more important in New York than anywhere else, although the personal influence of well-known Federalists (Hamilton and Jay) and Anti-Federalists (George Clinton) played an important factor in the debates and eventual ratification of the Constitution in New York as well.
  • With the passage of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, the first Federalist movement and the Anti-Federalist movements eventually dispersed, although many of the original Federalists and Anti-Federalists would play key roles in the formation of the Federalist and Democratic-Republican Parties.
  • For example, Democratic-Republican Party, the opposition to the Federalist Party, echoed the concerns of Anti-Federalists that a strong national government was a threat to individual liberties.
  • These themes had resonated with the Anti-Federalists, the opposition to the Federalist movement of the 1780s.

• The Transfer of Power between the Federalists and the Republicans

  • The Federalists were dominant until the Election of 1800.
  • An intense debate on ratification pitted the Federalists (who supported the Constitution and were led by Madison and Hamilton) against the Anti-Federalists (who opposed the new Constitution and was loosely led by Patrick Henry).
  • The Federalists won and the Constitution was ratified; however, the Anti-Federalists remained deeply concerned about the dangers of a strong central government (like Britain) that would one day usurp the rights of the states.
  • It also alienated some original Federalists.
  • Identify the central conflict between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists (Democratic-Republicans)

• The Final Document

  • Despite quarreling between Federalists and Anti-Federalists, the Constitutional Convention ratified the Constitution in September 1788.
  • Hamilton led the Federalist campaign, which included the fast-paced appearance of the Federalist Papers in New York newspapers.
  • But he was elected the Constitution's President unanimously, including the vote of Virginia's presidential elector, the Anti-federalist Patrick Henry .
  • The Senate of 11 states would be 20 Federalists to two Virginia (Henry) Anti-federalists.
  • The House would seat 48 Federalists to 11 Antis from only four states: Massachusetts, New York, Virginia and South Carolina.

• Federalists

  • Federalists supported ratification of the new United States Constitution and published The Federalist Papers to encourage support from the states.
  • This group appropriated the name Federalist.
  • As the Federalists moved to amend the Articles and create a new Constitution, they dubbed their opposition Anti-Federalists.
  • Hamilton decided to launch a measured and extensive defense and explanation of the proposed Constitution as a response to the Anti-Federalists, specifically addressing the people of New York.
  • In this paper, James Madison discussed the means of preventing rule by majority faction (a topic of great concern for Anti-Federalists) and advocated for a large, commercial republic.

• The Birth of Political Parties

  • The Federalist party, which had grown out of the Federalist faction supporting ratification, favored a powerful central government and an economy based on commerce and manufacturing.
  • The Democratic-Republicans, who arose out of the Anti-Federalist faction opposing ratification, favored a less-powerful central government and an economy that was built around farming and the trades.
  • The Federalists tended to focus on the financial programs of Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, while Democratic-Republican Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson led those who had been prominent in the Anti-Federalist cause.
  • Conflict between the two parties heightened with the passage by Federalists of the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798, which sought to curtail speech against the Federalist government.
  • The political fate of the Federalist party was then sealed by the seemingly treasonable behavior of leading Federalists during the War of 1812.

• The Republican Alternative

  • Instead, this group of republicans expressed admiration of the French Revolution, defended states' rights ideologies as articulated by the Anti-Federalists, and extolled yeoman farmer agriculture as the backbone of the American economy rather than commerce or manufacturing.
  • This position clashed with the Federalist-dominated government.
  • Federalists spread rumors that the Republicans were radicals who would ruin the country, while the Republicans accused Federalists of destroying republican values by favoring aristocratic, anti-republican principles.
  • This occurred in part because this regime change did not necessarily signal a complete overhaul of Federalist policies.
  • Describe the formation of the Democratic-Republican party and the central grounds of its opposition to the Federalists