The Federalists and Anti-Federalists

And the Federalist Papers

Who were the Federalists?

• Federalists- supported the Constitution. They liked to explain what it was about and strongly defended it.

• Three famous Federalists were James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay

Who were the Anti-federalists?

• Anti Federalists - believed Constitution created a national government that was too powerful.

• George Mason and Patrick Henry opposed the Constitution because there was no bill of rights to protect individual freedoms and felt it gave the president too much power

The Federalist Papers• What were they?

A series of essays that explained and supported the U.S. Constitution

• Who wrote them?Madison, Hamilton, and Jay wrote them, but James Madison was the primary author

The Federalist Papers

• What were the main arguments?– A republican form

of government would work well in the U.S.

– Federalism allowed national and state governments to share power

– The Articles of Confederation= weak government

So, what have you learned?

1. Who were the Federalists?

2. Who were the Anti-federalists?

3. Why were the Federalist Papers written?

4. What did the Federalists Papers say about the principle of Federalism?

5. Who was the main author of the Federalist Papers?