How Successful Was The New Constitution Dbq

Anti-Federalists is a group of people in the early U.S. who opposed ratification of the U. S. Constitution, because they feared a strong national government would oppress the people. They believed the governments should be rightly balanced, the different branches of legislature should be unconnected, and that the legislative and executive powers should be separate (Regent, Word Doc., 2017). Their concerns were within the national government; the legislative and executive branches were to powerful. They were also concerned that the Constitution gave too much power to the national government at the expense of the state governments. However, they believed that a bill of rights was essential to protection the people from the federal government.

The Federalists supported the ratification of the Constitution while the Anti Federalists were against it. This boiled down to simple beliefs held by both groups. Anti Federalists believed that the Constitution gave too much power to the central government and left state governments powerless. Anti Federalists were in favor of a weaker central governments and stronger local state governments. They believed that central government was too far removed from the people, and that the nation was too large, for it to serve them on a local state basis. This resulted in the fear that people’s voices would be taken away; this fear of oppression was only increased by the fact that the Constitution didn’t include a Bill of Rights. However, Federalists believed that a strong central government, accompanied by the Constitution, was needed after the Article of Confederation failed or the nation wouldn’t survive. In the eyes of the Federalists, a Bill of Rights was not needed because the Constitution did not put any limits on the rights of the citizens; however

In the year 1787, early America, officials and delegates came together to form a constitution that would restore the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation was the attempt at creating a government for the newly independent America. But, it soon became clear that the document was not strong enough to govern America. Therefore, delegates who came to be known as Federalists and Anti-Federalists issued major arguments on the ratification of the U.S Constitution. Federalists were individuals who wished to unify the 13 states in negotiation, and

Many individuals were complaining that the government is unstable, the public good is disregarded in the conflicts of rival parties and that many decisions are being made based on the opinions of the majority party. The federalists were pointing issue on the constitution and evidence to back up their claim. Consequently, on Document D, during the ratification of the constitution process, John Jay explains his presentations about drafting a constitution that goes against the state's wishes. Even though the federalists were a little uneasy about the constitution, they still knew it was important.for the

The anti-federalists believed that a stronger, central government would result in a tyrannical rule similar to the one that the country just fought to be freed from. The anti-federalists also believed that the states would be under minded by the federal government and threaten the liberty

The Federalists supported the United States Constitution. They supported removing powers from the states and allowing the powers to go simply into the hands of the U.S. national government. Federalists were pleased with the idea of dividing the powers among the different branches of government, such as the legislative, executive, and judicial courts. Moreover, the anti-federalists believe that the necessary political powers need to remain within the states. They want the legislative branch to hold more power than the executive branch. The anti-federalists were uneasy at the thought of having a strong central government. They formed an ideation that there would be a probability the government may or may not become a dictator or tyrant. These people against the Constitution believed that a possible Bill of Rights needed to be the new and improved addition to the United States Constitution.

The Anti- federalists had a variety of reason to oppose the Constitution in the ratification debate in 1787. They claimed that the Constitution gave the central government too much power; they preferred a weak central government. They believed that the Bill of Rights needed to be added to the Constitution to protect people’s rights because there were lack of guarantees of individual rights in the Constitution. Some of them thought the new system threatened the sovereignty of the States. Some feared that the new government threatened their personal liberties and failed to protect the individual rights. Other argued that this new centralize government would be like as the Great Britain which they had tried so hard to get away from. They needed

After the U.S won the revolutionary war, the Americans were finally free of the British laws like the stamp acts. Due to the fact that the Americans were free they had to create a new system of Government. The Birth of the constitution was accompanied by the escalating debate of the future of the U.S government. The debate rose two opposing sides. The federalist and the Anti-Federalist. They Both argued the concerns and the role of the National government and its power over the interest of the local community.

The Antifederalists were obviously opposed to the Constitution, and they were in full support of the Articles of Confederation. The Antifederalists leaders, like Patrick Henry, believed the Constitution challenged individual’s liberty. The Antifederalists acted in factions. As the Federalists believed in a strong central government, the Antifederalists thought this would get in the way of state sovereignty. Furthermore, other factions within the Antifederalists believed a strong, central government would reflect the government of Great Britain, in which they were trying to get away from. Patrick Henry publicly spoke out against the Constitution claiming it would give the States very limited power. The Constitution was to contain a president, army, and the power to tax. Henry and others viewed this as basically Great Britain. They were afraid that the

The Anti-Federalists were people who opposed the ratification of the Constitution. These people were against the development of a strong federal government. These people were afraid that a strong central government would infringe on their personal liberties, citing that it would be just like going back to Great Britain. They would rather place more power in the hands of their state and local governments. The Anti-Federalists stayed opposed to the Constitution until inclusion of the Bill of Rights. Supporters of this movement often resided largely in rural, less developed areas. Anti-Federalists

During the ratification of the Constitution of 1787, the Federalist and Anti-federalist views created tensions and barriers between the two. Federalists, who supported the making of a new document, the Constitution, differed from Anti-federalists who believed that “the new system threatened liberties and failed to protect individual rights.” Anti-federalist, such as Patrick Henry, James Winthrop and Samuel Adams, believed in state 's rights and only urged the need of alterations to the Articles of Confederation rather than dispose of it. Likewise, several arguments arose including the issue of slavery, the duties of the Supreme Court, but majorly the Bill of Rights.

This divided the delegates into two separate groups, Federalists and Anti-Federalists. Federalists wanted a strong central government and immediate ratification of the Constitution. Conversely, Anti-Federalists wanted power in the states, not the central government, “It is true this government is limited to certain objects, or to speak more properly, some small degree of power is still left to the states,” (Brutus I). Also, they favored the Articles of Confederation due to the Bill of Rights. On the other hand, Federalists disagreed with including the Bill of Rights because of the possibility of it backfiring in future generations.

The Antifederalists’ did not want the new constitution because they had a fear that the government would become too powerful. They thought that the new constitution should contain a Bill of Rights. They wanted the Bill of Rights so it would protect and educate the citizens of the new government. They thought they would use the power to reduce the power of the states. They also did not like the idea of the President having the power to veto decisions.

Establishing an effective system of government has proven to be an obstacle for centuries. Fortunately, the Founding Father recognized the common flaws of governments, as did many common men in the colonies. Consequently, the ratification of the constitution was vital for a healthy governmental system, though it did bring about much debate and persuasion. There were two main positions which people took during the ratification, those being the Anti-Federalist and the Federalist. The Anti-Federalist were a diverse assembly involving prominent men such as George Mason and Patrick Henry, and also the most unlikely of individuals, those being Farmers and shopkeepers. The chief complaint about the Constitution was that it confiscated the power from the sates, thereby robbing the people of their power. Oppositely, the Federalist believed in removing some control from the states and imparting that power to the national government, thus making America partially national. Throughout this debate, many letters were shared between the two sides, and eventually, it led to the federalist winning over the colonies.

2: Jay). Jay set out to persuade the public about the importance of their voice in ratifying the Constitution by appealing to their sense of patriotism and by reminding them of their own powers to judge upon the validity of the arguments. The federalists made it very clear that they, and the future Constitution, would take the views of the public with serious consideration. In the same essay, Jay also wrote that "the people must cede to it some of their natural rights, in order to vest it with requisite powers." He reminded the people to look out for the interest of the nation as a whole. Increasing distrust in public affairs and the search for private rights were some of the distresses the infant nation was undergoing. "These must be chiefly, if not wholly, effects of the unsteadiness and injustice with which a factious spirit has tainted our public administration" (No.10: Madison). The federalists believed that a republican form of government was the best remedy in eliminating factions, citizens with a common inspiring cause that acted harmfully to another, without destroying liberty. This would be possible because a higher number of representatives would guard against the factions, which would never become the majority under the republic.