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Federalists and Antifederalists
Efforts to revise the Articles of Confederation led to the drafting of a new constitution. There were disagreements between the federalists and antifederalists regarding the ratification of the constitution. Antifederalists opposed the formation of a central government. Instead, they opted for establishment of small localized governments which would bring services closer to the citizens. The article says, “Antifederalists remained closer to original republicanism…with its emphasis on local government and fears on national government” (201). They insisted that the constitution had many faults. The argued that the new constitution would give the country an entirely new and untested form of government. As a result, the individual states would have little power since all power would be given to the federal government. Also, they claimed that the framers of the constitution had met a particularly elite group of people with the aim of violating the provisions of the Articles of Confederation using the new constitution. Additionally, they argued that the new constitution did not provide for Bill of Rights that would protect the people. As a result, Americans would not enjoy the freedom of speech and other freedoms that were enjoyed previously. On the other hand, federalists supported the adoption of the constitution and formation of a national government. In spite of both parties having concerns about the preservation of liberty, they disagreed on whether the central government would preserve or destroy the freedom to the Americans.

The article quotes, “…its officials would behave as power wielders had, and American liberty, so recently preserved at such cost, would again come under attack” (199). Federalists felt that state governments had too much power and had become very democratic. They claimed that the system had led to the violation of the rights of economic elites. This is because the poor people had succeeded in influencing the leaders to make certain decisions. They thought that the situation had led to unfairness to the elites and also negatively affected the economy. Thus, they emphasized that a strong government would be more stable and provide a favorable economic climate for the growth of businesses.