Federalists and Anti-Federalists © The Florida Law Related Education Association, Inc. Adapted from We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution, Level

Federalists and Anti-Federalists

© The Florida Law Related Education Association, Inc.

Adapted from We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution, Level 2, Lesson 18 and The American Journey: A History of the United States by Goldfield et al.

The Federalists were the people who supported ratifying the Constitution.

They encouraged the states to put together their ratifying conventions as soon as possible in order to ratify the Constitution.


Remember that Article VII in the Constitution said

that the Constitution would go into

effect after it had been ratified by 9

of the 13 state conventions.

James Madison

Alexander Hamilton

John Jay

The Federalists were mainly

large farmers,

merchants, and

artisans.

Also known as the Federalist Papers

Series of articles or papers written for a New York newspaper supporting ratification

One of the most important explanations of constitutional government ever written



“If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.” – James Madison

“Liberty is to faction what air is to fire…” – James Madison

“Give all the power to the many, they will oppress the few. Give all the power to the few, they will oppress the many.” – Alexander Hamilton

“Those who stand for nothing fall for anything.” – Alexander Hamilton

Edmund Randolf

The Anti-Federalists were the people who opposed ratifying the Constitution


George Mason

Elbridge Gerry

Richard Henry Lee John Hancock Samuel Adams Patrick Henry

The Anti-Federalists were

mainly small farmers, often

from rural areas. Only a few

wealthy men (like Mason and Randolf) joined

the Anti-Federalists.

While the Federalist Papers presented arguments in favor of ratifying the Constitution, the Anti-Federalist papers presented arguments against ratification

These articles were mostly written by authors with pseudonyms

They were warning the people of the dangers of tyranny that were not protected by the Constitution



“I had rather be a free citizen of the small republic of Massachusetts than an oppressed subject of the great American empire.”

“It is very easy to change a free government into an arbitrary one, but that it is very difficult to convert tyranny into freedom.”

“In proportion as the people lose their freedom, every gradation of distinction, between the Governors and governed obtains, until the former become masters, and the latter become slaves.”

“…every body of men, invested with power, are ever disposed to increase it.”

“It is beyond doubt that the new federal constitution, if adopted, will in great measure destroy, if not annihilate, the separate governments of the several states.”

The main thing Federalists and Anti-Federalists had conflict over was whether to throw out the Articles of Confederation or to keep the Articles of Confederation

Other areas where they disagreed:The concentration of power

Should the power be concentrated in one strong national government or divided among the separate state governments?

Inclusion of a Bill of RightsDoes the Constitution in its original composition

protect the rights of the people or should the rights of the people be clearly outlined?


Toss the Articles of Confederation

Favored strong central government

Believed the Constitution in its original form would protect the rights of the people

Keep the Articles of Confederation

Favored power divided among state governments

People should be protected from the power of government by having clearly outlined rights

Very distrustful of government

Anti-Federalists


On your Fed Up: Classifying Arguments Handout, you should have written down some general information about the Federalists and Anti-Federalists.


• Your job: INDIVIDUALLY decide which arguments in Part II are arguments of the Federalists (mark with an F) and which are arguments of the Anti-Federalists (mark with an A)


Anti-Federalis

ts

We oppose a strong central government. The states will lose

their influence with the growth in the national government’s power. .


Federalists

The necessary and proper clause (Article I, Section 8 of the

U.S. Constitution) is needed if the national government is

to do the things it is responsible for doing.


Federalists

The national government cannot become a tyranny because there are limits

placed on it through separation of powers and

checks and balances. Government will protect the rights of the people in return for their loyalty and support.


Federalists

We oppose the Articles of Confederation. It isn’t effective as a

governing document. We need a stronger central government. We

need to ratify the new government framed by the Constitution.


Anti-Federalis

ts

The Constitution’s supremacy clause makes the national

government’s laws superior to the state governments’ laws. This will destroy the state governments in favor of the national government.


Federalists

We support a strong central government. The national government needs to be

strong to function.


Anti-Federalis

ts

Republic governments only worked in small communities where the people had similar wealth and the same values. The new nation will be too large and diverse, and the

people will be unable to work toward the common good.


Federalists

A strong executive is needed if the national government is to fulfill its

responsibilities. There are checks and balances on the branches of

government so no one branch, including the executive branch, can

have too much power.


Anti-Federalis

ts

It is essential to include a Bill of Rights to protect people from the national

government. The absence of a Bill of Rights is a real threat to individual

liberties of citizens. There is no mention of freedoms like religion,

speech, press, or assembly.


Anti-Federalis

ts

The Articles of Confederation need to be amended, not abandoned. The

Constitution goes too far. A stronger national government will threaten state power. This new Constitution will create a government the people

cannot control.


Federalists

The Supremacy Clause (Article I,

Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution) is an assurance that the Constitution is the Supreme law of the land. The Constitution will protect state governments by giving

them certain powers. This will keep the national government from intruding on the powers

left to the states.


Anti-Federalist

s

The necessary and proper clause is too general and gives too much

power to the national government. All of the powers of government should be listed so appropriate limits can be placed

on them.


Anti-Federalis

ts

The Constitution gives too much power to the

executive branch. There is the threat that it will become a monarchy.


Anti-Federalis

ts

Free government requires participation of all the people. If the national government is

far from where the people live, the people will not be able to participate. This may result in

tyranny.


Federalists

A large republic where power is divided between

the national and state governments will be a

better solution than the small republics of the past

that were destroyed by self-interested citizens that did not work for the common

good. A large republic is the best protection for

individual freedoms.


Federalists

A Bill of Rights is not necessary. The Constitution gives

government only limited power. If we have a Bill of Rights, then only those rights listed may be presumed to be protected. We

cannot list every right.


Federalists

Anti-Federalis

ts

Citizen representation

State representation

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/Federalist.jpg/220px-Federalist.jpg

http://www.acps.k12.va.us/mason/images/george_mason.jpg http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/continental/images/

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Federalists and Anti-Federalists © The Florida Law Related Education Association, Inc. Adapted from We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution, Level