The Anti-Federalists were against the ratification of the constitution. The only reason the Anti-Federalists agreed to help ratify the constitution was because of the Bill of Rights and without the Bill of Rights the Constitution would not have been ratified. Ranging from political nobilities like James Winthrop in Massachusetts, to Melancton Smith of New York, and Patrick Henry and George Mason of Virginia, these Antifederalist were joined by a large number of ordinary Americans particularly commoner farmers who predominated rural America. In spite of the diversity that characterized the Anti-federalist opposition, they did share a solid core view of American politics. They believed that the greatest threat to the future of the United States lay in the government's potential to become corrupt and seize more and more power until its tyranny like rule completely dominated the people. Having just succeeded in rejecting what they saw as the tyranny of British power, certain threats were seen as a very crucial part of political life. The differences between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists are vast and at times complex. The Anti-Federalists opposed the ratification of the US Constitution, but they never organized efficiently across all thirteen states, and had to fight the ratification at every state convention. Their great success was in forcing the first Congress under the new Constitution to establish a Bill of Rights, to ensure the liberties the Anti-Federalists felt the Constitution violated. "A pure democracy can admit no cure for the mischiefs of faction. A common passion or interest will be felt by a majority, and there is nothing to check the inducements to sacrifice the weaker party. Hence it is, that democracies have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have, in general, been as short in