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Similarities Between The Federalist And The Anti-Federalists

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There exists a similarity between both the federalists and the anti-federalists. Both felt that government was necessary because ‘men were not “angels”’ (Bryner, Public Virtue and the Roots of American Government, 1987). However, they disagree on the size of government and the republic. The federalists wanted a large republic with a central government while the anti-federalist wanted a small republic with a state government. In this essay, I generally agree with the statements except the part where federalists were republicans because they envisioned the commonweal of the national community. The weakness of this argument is that there may be a false impression that the candidate is truly virtuous. Thus, when he becomes the national government, …show more content…

Unlike the national government, state governments encourage and support religious activities’ that inculcates virtue in the citizens (Bryner, Public Virtue and the Roots of American Government, 1987). Hence, in a small republic (state), there is a higher probability of finding true natural aristocrats with wisdom, talents and virtue to be representatives of the state. Being virtuous and wise, the representatives practice self-restraint to act in their own self-interest. For instance, corruption causes the funds to be diverted away from establishing a better society through the upgrading of facilities, provision of education and healthcare services. Furthermore, representatives in a small republic are a clear reflection of the citizens’ interests (Lim, 2014). Elections are held every few years to select the best representatives for the state. During the period of campaigning, the candidates have direct contact with the citizens through to organization of rallies and walkabouts where they interact with the electorate and understand their concerns. Hence, the electorate has an idea of whether the potential representatives are truly virtuous. Since these representatives are highly talented, they will also have the knowledge to implement appropriate laws and policies to manage the concerns of the

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