The So-Called Anti-Federalists True Desires

The United States of America had just freed itself from a tyranny and tried to ensure the safety of the people from tyranny again by using the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation to most seemed to be a complete failure because of the weak national government. The Federalists, who believed a strong national government with the idea of separation of powers, will more effectively rule the United States of America. Undoubtedly the anti-Federalists have showed a strong opposition to the idea of a strong central government in the United States and constantly feuded with Federalists. Anti-Federalists were composed of mostly the less educated and poorer people, and the Federalists were made up of elites that were highly educated and possessed wealth. The anti-Federalists still agreed with the Articles of Confederation, in the aspect that the state governments should contain more power then the national government, and they felt that the Constitution was ineffective because it contained no bill of rights.

Furthermore, the Constitution represented the Americans idea of a strong national government, and the Articles of Confederation represented the Americans idea of a strong state government. The Constitution increased the power of the national government greatly in comparison to when the Articles of Confederation were being used. The Constitution allowed the national government to be able to levy taxes, decide laws for all states without full approval, settle disputes between states, and many more powers that the national government was not able to do before. Clearly, the anti-Federalists were against the Constitution because they believed it would eventually turn into tyranny, they felt that it would require the Americans to be far to dependent on their national government. Thus, the anti-Federalists demanded for a Bill of Rights, to ensure the rights of the people. The anti-Federalists objection to the Constitution is proof that the anti-Federalists did not want a strong national government.