Federalist vs. Antifedralist

Federalist vs. Antifederalist Essay

After the revolution, the American colonists had found themselves free from British control. They wanted to create a system of government where tyranny would practically be non-existent. Originally the states were connected by the Articles of Confederation, but this document gave the central government no power of their own. It soon caused a lot of problems internationally because the colonists didn’t have respect for other countries. It was soon decided that a new document should be created to strengthen the central government and at the same time ensure the safety of the people. This new document was the Constitution. It later brought about a division between the colonists, forming two groups, Federalists and Antifederalists. Federalists believed that the Constitution was good, and the antifederalists opposed it and thought that it wouldn’t be able to protect the rights of the people.

The views of the antifederalists were very different from the federalists. They believed that the power given to the congress was not safe since it put them too much in control and that they were stealing power back from the common folk. The anti-federalists feared that the actual people would not be fairly represented by their new government since they would have the power to get rid of the individual rights of the people. Hence they created the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights claims it is for and by the people. Especially since America is so large, it does not ensure everyone's opinion would be heard. Many people did not like the idea of having representatives from each state because one man cannot bring forth many different opinions. Anti-federalists believe that liberty only is present when there are few people and they can actually get their voice projected. In a large population, like America, the citizens do not get individual freedom and are deprived of their rights. They included mostly the poor class. Shays’ rebellion is a...