Essay Example on Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists: The 1787 Constitution Dispute

Political groups began to form during the dispute over the promulgation of the Constitution of 1787. The friction between them intensified as the focus shifted from the creation of a new state government to the problem of how successful the national government would be. Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, wanted a stable representative government, while anti-federalists, led by Thomas Jefferson, proposed state sovereignty instead of centralizing power. The federalists have flourished around the country's business market, although their resistance has derived their support from those who preferred the agrarian economy. In his final speech as President of the United States, the other political wars led George Washington to advise of the adverse consequences of the political group's mentality.

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The fore-fathers had to build government out of nothing after the Revolutionary War practically. In 1781, as the first national legislation, the federalists formed the Articles of Confederation. But it was perceived as weak because it had provided too much authority to state governments without the creation of an effective national government. On the other side, the anti-Federalist were against the formation of a constitution that could have jurisdiction over the states.

The federalists desired a republican form of government in which the people would nominate representatives to serve them. Most federalists have been enlightened, rich men, and they were responsible for drafting the Declaration of Independence. The anti-Federalists have thought that every nation should have the right to establish its legislation. They also presumed that the Constitution had given the President and the Congress too much authority.

The Declaration, adopted in 1790, brought the federalists supremacy. Throughout 1791, however, the anti-Federalists were successful in convincing the leaders of the country to implement the first ten amendments to the Constitution referred to as the Bill of Rights. As the independent states joined the union, the anti-Federalists got into power, and Jefferson was elected president in 1800. Nevertheless, even though Jefferson was a libertarian, he sometimes lost sight of the Constitution.

Conclusion

Conclusively, as time went on in American history, all parties agreed to have a stable nation where all the interests of its citizens were protected and their protection guaranteed. Even the pro-Federalist Madison finally accepted the need for a conventional army and navy and founded a central bank. After that, federalist and anti-federalist ideologies vanished, and the national parties have evolved to finish their work. Tennessee, the anti-Federalists had discovered that they were relying on their neighbors and friends. The federal government ignored them by not defending them from Indian assaults. Tennessee voted as presidents for anti-Federalists Jefferson and James Madison.

Works Cited

Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty! An American History: One Volume. WW Norton & Company, 2016.