Ratification Debate Federalists And Anti Federalists

They complained that the new system threatened liberties and failed to protect individual rights.

Ratification debate federalists and anti federalists. Their opponents became the antifederalists. In early august 1787 the constitutional convention s committee of detail had just presented its preliminary draft of the constitution to the rest of the delegates and the federalists and the anti federalists were beginning to parse some of the biggest foundational debates over what american government should look like. As in any debate there were two sides the federalists who supported ratification and the anti federalists who did not. It was the way of the federalists to continue with their hope of creating the united states of america in perpetual union.

Read about their arguments below. The debates seem pointless and the papers seem unreadable. Constitution was ratified in 1788 and went into effect in 1789. However patrick henry an anti federalist doubted whether congress would even propose amendments to the constitution let alone congress calling for a convention after the ratification of the constitution labunski p.

You re told there was a debate over whether to have a strong federal government the anti federalists are represented as idiots fighting an obviously good idea and you re sat down to read a laboriously expressed federalist paper or two and that s that. The anti federalists weren t exactly a united group but instead involved many elements. Those who favored the strong national government provided for in the constitution called themselves the federalists. We now know that the federalists prevailed and the u s.