However, in order to develop a deeper understanding of the ideological foundations upon which our government is built, it is important to analyze both the Federalist and Ant-Federalist arguments. The Anti-Federalists were not as organized as the Federalists. They did not share one unified position on the proper form of government. However, they did unite in their objection to the Constitution as it was proposed for ratification in The Anti-Federalists argued against the expansion of national power.
They favored small localized governments with limited national authority as was exercised under the Articles of Confederation. They generally believed a republican government was only possible on the state level and would not work on the national level.
Another, and perhaps their most well-known concern, was over the lack of a bill of rights. Most Anti-Federalists feared that without a bill of rights, the Constitution would not be able to sufficiently protect the rights of individuals and the states. Perhaps the strongest voice for this concern was that of George Mason. It was this concern that ultimately led to the passing of the bill of rights as a condition for ratification in New York, Virginia, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and North Carolina.
Largely as a result, the party continued to lose power at the national level. It carried only Connecticut, Delaware and part of Maryland against Jefferson in In the presidential election against Madison, the Federalist candidate, Charles C. The declaration of war against Great Britain in brought New York , New Jersey , and more of Maryland into the Federalist fold, although these states were not enough to gain the party the presidency.
But Federalist obstruction of the war effort seriously undercut its newfound popularity, and the Hartford Convention of won for it, however unjustly, the stigma of secession and treason. The party under Rufus King carried only Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Delaware in the election of Although it lingered on in these states, the party never regained its national following, and by the end of the War of , it was dead.
Its inability to accommodate early enough a rising, popular democratic spirit, often strongest in towns and cities, was its undoing. Its emphasis upon banking, commerce and national institutions, although fitting for the young nation, nevertheless made it unpopular among the majority of Americans who, as people of the soil, remained wary of state influence.
Yet its contributions to the nation were extensive. Its principles gave form to the new government. Its leaders laid the foundations of a national economy, created and staffed a national judicial system and enunciated enduring principles of American foreign policy.
But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. After the Civil War, the party dominated in the South due to its opposition to civil and political rights for African Americans. New York: Knopf, Harding, Samuel Bannister. Cambridge, Mass. Mitzi Ramos. Federalists [electronic resource]. Other articles in Groups and Organizations. Want to support the Free Speech Center?
Donate Now. White, Leonard D. These eloquent political documents encouraged Americans to adopt the newly-written Constitution and its stronger central government. Largely influenced by the ideas of Alexander Hamilton, the Federalists succeeded in convincing the Washington administration to assume national and state debts, pass tax laws, and create a central bank.
These moves undoubtedly saved the fledgling democracy from poverty and even destruction. In foreign policy, Federalists generally favored England over France. Anti-Federalists such as Thomas Jefferson feared that a concentration of central authority might lead to a loss of individual and states rights. They resented Federalist monetary policies, which they believed gave advantages to the upper class. In foreign policy, the Republicans leaned toward France, which had supported the American cause during the Revolution.
Jefferson and his colleagues formed the Republican Party in the early s. By , the Federalists had become a party in name as well. After John Adams, their candidate, was elected president in , the Federalists began to decline.
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