Federalists and the AntiFederalists Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Federalists and the AntiFederalists - Essay Example The final Constitution had to be approved and ratified or approved by the each state. The making of the Constitution led to the division of the American people into two groups, the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. The Federalists believed that the creation of a Constitution was the only way a just society could be established. They believed that not all the power should be given to the legislature unless it was written down as this would ensure no mistreatment of power. They centered their arguments on the incapability's of the national government based on the Article of Confederation and stressed on the benefits of a government based on the Constitution. They also believed that a strong central government would help in the commercial growth of the country. "Federalists tended to associate local, face-to-face politics with momentary passion and short-sightedness, while associating a broader, more refined view of the public interest with national representatives" (Ellis, 1996, p. 64). The Federalists had a pluralistic view of the society, they believed in a society that had many different and competing groups, and no group would dominate the other. Two noted leaders of the Federalists were Ale xander Hamilton and James Madison, who helped create the constitution. The Anti-Federalists obviously had a different view. ... They believed that the president would be given too much power, and that the Congress would be aristocratic in nature with very few representatives for a large number of people. They argued that the Constitution would put an end to self rule in the states. The Anti-Federalists also believed that a country as large as the United States of America could not be controlled by a single national government. Thomas Jefferson, an Anti-Federalist felt that the merits of democratic freedom were best groomed in an agricultural or agrarian society and with increasing urbanization, centralization of power, and commercialization there would be a decline in political society and ultimately tyranny. One of the best associates the Federalists had in their effort to get the Constitution ratified was of the provisions given for the ratification of Article VII of the Constitution. Federalist leaders returned to their states after the Constitution was created at the Constitutional Convention, in order to elect Federalist delegates to the conventions in the states. By the year 1790, all the thirteen states of America had ratified the document, giving the Constitution and the Federalists their victory. Though the Constitution was created, which was not in favor of the Anti-Federalist, there efforts did not go unnoticed. In response to their sentiments the first ten amendments were added to the Constitution, voted by state legislatures. Those ten amendments were given the name Bill of Rights. Today, the Bill of Rights is an important part of the Constitution's heritage of liberty. "The Anti-Federalists insisted that the Constitution should explicitly recognize the traditional procedural rights: to be safe from general search and seizure, to be indicted by grand