The Differences between the Federalists and the Anti-federalists

The differences between the Federalists and the Antifederalists are broad and complex. Federalists beliefs could be almost described as nationalist. The Federalists were active in 1787 and involved in the shaping the new US Constitution. This strengthened the national government at a high cost. According to the Antifederalists this endangered the states and the people. The Antifederalists were against the ratification of the US Constitution, but they never really coordinated officially across all thirteen states, and so they had to fight the decision to ratify at every state convention.

The federalist wanted a strong central government and weak state governments. The key federalist consisted of Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John jay, James Madison, and George Washington. Federalist favored the constitution and believed it was enough to protect individual rights. The federalist had the support from large urban areas. Antifederalist wanted power in the states and not the central government. The key antifederalist John Hancock, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, George Mason, and Mercy Otis Warren. They favored the Articles of Confederation and believed that the constitution was not enough to protect individual rights. Antifederalist were favored largely in rural areas. In the long run the federalist and antifederalist ended up compromising on one solution. This solution was adding a bill of rights to the constitution to protect the rights of the people.

In conclusion, the debate between the federalist and antifederalist shaped the way our government operates today. Without the constitution we wouldn't have a sense of direction in our country, and without the bill of rights we wouldn't have basic rights as human beings. People naturally are drawn to the antifederalist way of thinking to protect as many rights as possible. When the political organization ignores Antifederalist opinions for too long, it can overthrow and take over, which is partly what happened during the long drawn out, strange election of 2016.

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