Most Americans were very suspicious of government, but the Anti-
Federalist was really mistrustful of the government in general and strong
national government. This mistrust was the basis of their opposition to the
constitution. They feared it had created a government the people could not
control. Many distinguished Americans were Anti-Federalists. Leaders
included George Mason and Elbridge Gerry. Both attended the Philadelphia
Convention but had refused to sign the constitution.
The Anti-Federalist argued that the Constitution had many flaws.
The thought that it should have been developed in meetings whose
proceedings was open to the public. And it would undermine a republican
form of government. It gave too much power to the national government at
the expense of the powers of state governments. It gave too much power to
the executive branch of the national government at the expense of the other
branches. It gave too......
Join Now or Login to view the rest of this paper.
Approximate Word Count: 685
Approximate Pages: 3 (260 words per double-spaced page) |