2.03

Like a human body, the United States government works stronger when all ligaments
work properly. The arms and legs need a center to be successful. Without a strong central
government, the states lack a strong base of command. Anti-federalists believe in a weakened
central government and giving more power to the individuals. The anti-federalists feared that
the biggest threat to the people is the tyranny of the government. On the other hand,
federalists believe that groups of people with a shared interest can damage democracy.
Likewise, federalists are the wiser group as they want ratification for the Constitution as
opposed to the Anti-federalists who favor a system similar to the faulty Articles of
Confederation.
The Constitution is an important foundation for the laws that apply in the United States
and brought many debates and discussions regarding its competence. Federalists and Anti-
Federalists both have different viewpoints on how the government would be set up under the
Constitution. Federalists would establish the government by setting up a strong central
government that is made up of three branches- Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. By doing so,
this would help protect the people’s individual rights. With systems like checks and balances,
separation of powers, and popular sovereignty, it would be nearly impossible for one branch to
take over the other thus preventing tyranny. In addition, having representatives from all states
protects Congress from being too powerful.
The Bill of Rights was another topic of debate as Federalists did not want to include it in
the ratification while Anti-Federalists strongly encouraged one. The Federalists’ viewpoint on
leaving out a Bill of Rights began with the reasoning that the government could possibly restrict
a right because it’s not written in the bill. By detailing every individual right, it could lead to the
government finding another way to reduce those rights. According to quote No. 84, Alexander
Hamilton thought of the Bill of Rights as unnecessary because the Constitution already checks
the powers of the government, “It is evident, therefore, that according to their primitive
signification, they have no application…”. In other words, the Bill of Rights originated when a
king’s powers needed to be corrected, but with the system of checks and balances in place, it’s
irrelevant. Not to mention, the Bill of Rights is broad and is not intended to protect all people.
The Federalists were the most organized side oppose to the Anti-Federalists as the
method of the Federalist Papers made them advantageous. On the other hand, Anti-Federalists
papers were not strong and lacked a synchronized structure which was a big factor during the
debate. It would be unwise to side with the Anti-Federalists as they support the states holding
more power than a central government. This is a poor choice because a strong central
government needs to be in place with enough power to avoid foreign invasion and other
threats in a time of a national emergency. Anti-Federalists argue this by claiming that a
powerful central government would overthrow the country with corruption but for this reason,
Federalists advocate for checks and balances which would prevent the country from tyranny.
For instance, from Federalist No. 51, James Madison states, “…giving those who administer
each department the necessary constitutional means and personal motives to resist
encroachments of the others.” Thus, explaining that the branches will restrict each other by
checking that no powers are being abused so considering this, the Anti- Federalists idea of a
decentralized government would be insufficient being that checks and balances would be in
place.
After analyzing both sides of the Federalist and the Anti- Federalists debate, it is clear
that the Federalists position on ratifying the Constitution is what’s best for the United States. As
has been noted, the Federalists have compelling points like the division of three branches, the
choice of strong executive power, and efforts to protect the people’s individual rights. In
essence, everyone should side with the Federalists as it will solidify the foundation of the
United States government.

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Like a human body, the United States government works stronger when all ligaments

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