Antifederalist political thought and opposition to the Constitution

Antifederalists

The Anti-Federalists represented a group of people that had been on a standing opposition with the Federalists at the time of the establishment of the U.S. Constitution. It included names such as George Mason, Elbridge Gerry, Edmund Randolph, Robert Yates and John Lansing. Despite the fact that they were unable to convince of the power of their arguments, their ideas related to government and policy reemerged at the beginning of the 19th century. Even so, they failed to bring upon a certain consensus and the country succumbed to the Civil War.

The main ideas promoted by the Anti-Federalist thinkers revolved around the issue of government and the attribution of power. In their own view, the ideal configuration of the country would imply a decentralized system of government. More precisely, under the Articles of the Confederation, the states were given increased power to decide for their own on issues affecting them locally. From this point-of-view, the Anti-Federalists considered that the future constitution changed the equilibrium established before. Thus, a better system of government would have to allow states a greater autonomy in matter affecting them. Their main argument was related to the revolutionary ideals which they considered were being forgotten. The end of the British domination also implied the end of a control that was not legitimate from the point-of-view of the local Americans. By comparison, it was considered by the Anti-Federalist supporters that a central government would exercise similar control and tyrannical rule as the British had done. However, a central government with limited powers would have prevented this recurrence.

Another issue the Anti-Federalists argued on was the establishment, in the Constitution, of the rights of the states. In connection with the general idea of local and central government, the Anti-Federalists believed that the power of the states and their influence in comparison to the central government should be stated in the fundamental law of the country.

Finally, the issue of representativeness was also a subject for debate. A small number of representatives would make the entire process inequitable due to the fact that the lower classes of the society would not have access to the authority of politics.

Some of these ideas recurred after the establishment of the Constitution, yet the political unity began to fade. In 1800, the first anti-Federalist president was elected through Thomas Jefferson. Still, the issue of slavery became a matter for increasing tensions. At the moment of the Louisiana Purchase, the question over slave states and abolitionist ones became inevitable. In this context, the aspect related to the powers of the central government reemerged taking into account the fact that in the current conditions of the representative spectrum, some states, depending on the population, would acquire more influence in the legislative body.