The Anti­Federalists included diverse factions, such as those opposed
to the Constitution or supporters of the Articles of Confederation.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE [ edit ]
Evaluate opposition to the ratification of the Constitution
KEY POINTS [ edit ]
The Anti­Federalists took their name from opposition to the Federalists.
Some Anti­Federalists argued that a strong central government threatened the sovereignty of the
states, localities, or individuals. Other anti­federalists claimed that centralized power would only
replace the cast­off despotism of Great Britain.
While individualism and state autonomy were the strong elements of opposition, all anti­
federalists also argued for the necessity of a bill of rights to protect individual liberties
from federal despotism.
TERMS [ edit ]
federalist
The term Federalist usually applied to either statesmen and public figures who supported
ratification of the proposed Constitution of the United States between 1787 and 1789, or
statesmen and public figures that supported the administrations of Presidents George
Washington (1789–1797) and John Adams (1797–1801).
anti­federalist
Anti­Federalism refers to a movement that opposed the creation of a stronger U.S. federal
government and which later opposed the ratification of the Constitution of 1787.
individual rights
Group rights are rights held by a group rather than by its members separately, or rights held only
by individuals within the specified group; in contrast, individual rights are rights held by
individual people regardless of their group membership or lack thereof.
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During the American Revolution and its immediate aftermath, the term "federal" was
applied to any person who supported the colonial union and the government formed under
the Articles of Confederation. After the war, the group of people who felt that the national
government under the Articles was too weak were called Federalists. Their efforts to amend
the Articles led to the development of the Constitution of the United States.
Some famous revolutionary figures and statesmen, such as Patrick Henry, publicly argued
against the Constitution. Many were concerned that the strong national government
proposed by the Federalists was a threat to individual rightsand that the proposed president
would become a king. They also objected to the federal court system in the proposed
Constitution.
As the Federalists moved forward with their efforts to amend the Articles, they applied the
term "Anti­Federalist" to this type of opposition. The term implied, correctly or not, both
opposition to Congress and unpatriotic motives. The Anti­Federalists rejected the term,
arguing that they were the true Federalists. In both their correspondence and their local
groups they tried to recapture the term. For example, an unknown Anti­Federalist signed his
public correspondence as "A Federal Farmer" and the New York committee opposing the
Constitution was called the "Federal RepublicanCommittee. " However, the Federalists
prevailed and the name Anti­Federalist stuck to their opposition.
The Anti­Federalists were composed of diverse elements, including those opposed to the
Constitution because they thought that a stronger government threatened the sovereignty
and prestige of the states, localities, or individuals; those who claimed that a new centralized
power would only replace the cast­off despotism of Great Britain, and those who simply
feared that the new government threatened their personal liberties. Some of the opposition
believed that the central government under the Articles of Confederation was sufficient. Still
others believed that while the national government under the Articles was too weak, the
national government under the Constitution would be too strong. Another complaint of the
Anti­Federalists was that the Constitution provided for a centralized rather than federal form
of government (in The Federalist Papers, James Madison wrote that the new Constitution
has characteristics of both) and that a truly federal form of government was a leaguing of
states as under the Articles of Confederation.
In every state, the opposition to the Constitution was strong, and in two states, North
Carolina and Rhode Island, it prevented ratification until the definite establishment of the
new government practically forced their adherence. While individualism and state autonomy
were the strong elements of opposition, all anti­federalists also argued for the necessity of a
bill of rights to protect individual liberties from federal despotism. In Rhode Island,
resistance against the Constitution was so strong that civil war almost broke out on July 4,
1788 when Anti­Federalist members of the Country Party led by Judge William West
marched into Providence with over 1,000 armed protesters.
The Anti­Federalists played upon these feelings in the ratification convention in
Massachusetts. By this point, five of the states had ratified the Constitution with relative
ease, but the Massachusetts convention was far more bitter and contentious. Finally, after
long debate, a compromise (known as the "Massachusetts compromise") was reached.
Massachusetts would ratify the Constitution with recommended provisions in the ratifying
instrument that the Constitution be amended with a bill of rights. The Federalists contended
that a conditional ratification would be void, so the recommendation was the strongest
support that the ratifying convention could give to a bill of rights short of rejecting the
Constitution altogether.
Four of the next five states to ratify, including New Hampshire, Virginia, and New York,
included similar language in their ratification instruments. As a result, once the Constitution
became operative in 1789, Congress sent a set of 12 amendments to the states. Ten of these
amendments were immediately ratified and became known as the Bill of Rights, with one of
the other two becoming the Twenty­seventh Amendment almost 200 years later. Thus, while
the Anti­Federalists were unsuccessful in their quest to prevent the adoption of the
Constitution, their efforts were not totally in vain. Anti­Federalists are thus credited with
pressuring Federalists to concede the U.S. Bill of Rights.
With the passage of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, the Anti­Federalist movement
was exhausted, although it was succeeded by the more broadly based Anti­Administration
Party, which opposed the fiscal and foreign policies of President George Washington.