The Anti-Federalists generally preferred a government as formed in 1781 by the Articles of Confederation, which had granted the predominance of power to the state … Anti-Federalists offer conservatives a lesson on the possibility of constitutional survival. Patrick Henry (standing at right) before the House of Burgesses in Williamsburg, Va., May 30, 1765; engraving after a painting by Peter F. Rothermel, This article was most recently revised and updated by While the states of Delaware, Georgia, and New Jersey voted to ratify the Constitution almost immediately, North Carolina and Rhode Island refused to go along until it became obvious that final ratification was inevitable. There he inaugurated the House Committee on Finance, which later grew into the powerful Ways and Means Committee.
After the Anti-Federalists lost the political debate in 1788, most did not withdraw from public life. The American Revolution was a costly war and left the colonies in an economic depression. In 1797–98 he helped to reduce Federalist-sponsored expenditures… Massachusetts, for example, agreed to ratify the Constitution only on the condition that it would be amended with a bill of rights.
Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox.Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Storing points out that many "Anti-Federalists" actually considered themselves Federalists in the sense that a federation is a structure over sovereign states. The thought was that this concentrated power would allow for standardized fiscal and monetary policy and for mo… In general, the Federalists and Anti-Federalists disagreed on the scope of the powers granted to the central U.S. government by the proposed Constitution.
At the height of the debate, famed revolutionary patriot Patrick Henry declared his opposition to the Constitution, thus becoming the figurehead of the Anti-Federalist faction. When the Federalists attempted to amend the Articles of Confederation to give the central government greater power, they began to refer to those who opposed them as “Anti-Federalists.” The states quickly ratified 10 of the amendments; the ten known today as the Bill of Rights. Anti-Federalists were concerned about excessive power of national government. Other Anti-Federalists argued that the new strong government would be little more than a “monarchy in disguise” that would simply replace British despotism with American despotism.
portrayal of the Anti-Federalists.
Anti-Federalists in Pennsylvania were frustrated by the rapid ratification engineered by the Federalist forces in that state, which was the second to do so. As soon as the Constitution had been ratified in 1789, Congress submitted a list of 12 bill of rights amendments to the states for their ratification. History at your fingertips
Closely akin to people who advocate the more modern political concept of “
Fewer than 50 countries belong to the United Nations. Despite their best efforts, the Anti-Federalists failed to prevent the U.S. Constitution from being ratified in 1789.
The Anti-Federalists were a group of Americans who objected to the creation of a stronger Virtually any topic for the virtual learner. Anti-Federalists, a loose political coalition of popular politicians, such as Patrick Henry, who, fearing the authority of a single national government, unsuccessfully opposed the strong central government envisioned in the U.S. Constitution of 1787 and whose agitations led to the addition of a Bill of Rights. The commentary underscores little-known similar positions and arguments made by the birth of the first two-party system in America. Still other Anti-Federalists simply feared the new government would become too involved in their daily lives and threaten their personal liberties. The arguments of the Anti-Federalists had more impact in some states than in others. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.
Concerned that a strong federal government might reduce the peoples’ individual freedoms, several states demanded the inclusion of a specific bill of rights in the Constitution.
The debt and remaining tensions—perhaps best summarized by a conflict in Massachusetts known as Shays' Rebellion—led some founding political members in the U.S. to desire for more concentrated federal power. The states of New Hampshire, Virginia, and New York also made their ratification conditional pending the inclusion of a bill of rights in the Constitution.
…became a mainstay of the anti-Federalists (and, later, the Jeffersonian Republicans) in that area and in 1795 was elected to the House of Representatives. The Anti-Federalists were a group of Americans who objected to the creation of a stronger U.S. federal government and opposed final ratification of the U.S. Constitution as approved by the Constitutional Convention in 1787. He was…