...1. The Federalist wanted a strong central government and weak state governments. The major federalist were Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, James Madison, and George Washington. The Anti-Federalist wanted power in the states and didn't want a powerful central government. The key anti-federalist were John Hancock, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, George Mason, and Mercy Otis Warren. The federalist favored the Constitution because it gave Congress the power to govern domestic affairs. Not only that but they were given the power to tax due to the Constitution. They did not trust the people to solve the major problems the nation had so they wanted a strong central government to counter that. The Constitution implemented a check and balance system so that one branch isn't too powerful...
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...Branches of Government Branches of Government The United States of America is run by our country’s Constitution. After the American Revolution, the newly named Americans realized the need for government and law. Our Constitution, once put into place, establishes three branches of government. It is important for all of Americans to understand why the founding fathers decided on three branches of government. It is also important to know what obstacles the division of power present for enactment of important legislation and how conflict has been characterized between supporters of a strong federal government and the supporters of state rights both in the past and now. The U.S. Constitution was written in 1787 by James Madison. This is considered the main law of the land. Any laws made for the country must agree with the Constitution. James Madison is the father of the constitution. Madison was the one that came up with the conspire that one branch could not have complete control. “The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether on or a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-pronounced to very definition of tranny” (Spaeth & Segal 1999). This is when our three branches were born. In the Executive Branch we have our President, vice president, and all of the cabinet. Our president is allowed to make or laws, pass, or veto them. The legislative Branch has 435 representatives and 100 senators forming a party of 535 members...
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...The challenge our founders faced was bringing in the bill of rights and allowing all the states to accept them. This was a problem because there were different groups who were against it, the people who were for it were the Anti – Federalist those against it were the federalist. The anti-federalist wanted the bill of rights because it will give the federal government more power and they will have their own states power by doing this not only does the states have power the people will have the right and the will to speak their minds and talk about how they feel about their government. This will lead to a change in the United States which will later gave them freedom. There was conflict the anti-federalist felt that if the federal government...
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...I would be an Anti-Federalist, due to the fact that they didn't despise federalism, they just wanted to make improvements. They worked to put more power into the states hands. Just as Anti-Federalist believe, I agree with the constitution but the bill of rights that was later added on was essential. The bill of rights is a huge essence in our personal rights that we have day in and day out. I don't know what our country would be like without these rights in place. Federalists were people who believed that the constitution was perfect as it was. They also pushed to get it ratified immediately. Federalists were also in support of a strong centralized government. "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 their lives as they have been violent in their deaths." During this time on conflict, two plans were brought into the picture to resolve the issue. The Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan. Federalists from large states were in favor of the Virginia Plan, because it would give power to the larger states. “We may define a republic to be, or at least may bestow that name on, a government which derives all its powers directly or indirectly from the great body of the...
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...for domination and control. The federalist supported the constitution and wanted a strong central government. As an anti-federalist the main focus of interest is the protecting the people's rights and limiting government control. Federalist supported the constitution, and wanted immediate ratification. They favored limiting state power, and believed that a strong central government was needed to protect the country. The Federalist's response to the anti-Federalist claim that a Bill of Rights should be introduced was that it would be dangerous. If a right was not listed, what was stopping the government from violating that law? The Federalist figured it would be best if no specific law was listed. Anti-Federalists did not want to ratify the constitution. Most Anti-Federalists believed that a somewhat stronger central government was needed, but for the most part favored a federal system where the states were supreme. Anti-Federalists did not want to ratify the constitution because there was no bill of rights, they wanted the rights of the people to be documented, and limit government power to some degree. The anti-federalist also believed that congress and the executive branch held too much power, and they feared that people of wealth would have the opportunity to obtain more power than the government itself. The Federalist papers contained many arguments supporting the ratification of the constitution. One of the quotes includes, Federalist #10, "A pure democracy can admit...
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...everyone. This universal fear was a much larger problem in the 1800’s than it is today. Tyranny was a fear that the Federalists, Anti-Federalists, and Alexis de Tocqueville had in common. The Federalists feared tyranny of the majority, or faction while the Anti-Federalists feared tyranny of the aristocracy. Tocqueville feared “soft despotism” but supported tyranny of the patriarchy. While the Federalist and the Anti-Federalists were the visionaries for America who tried to prevent different tyrannies, Tocqueville discusses the hypocrisies in America that the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists were against. The Federalists strongly believed that the newly founded republic needed a large, centralized government in order to discourage tyranny of the majority. Hamilton voices this opinion when he says “a firm Union will be of the utmost moment to the peace and liberty of the States as a barrier against domestic faction and insurrection.” (Hamilton, 66, Federalist No. 9) This is because a large, centralized government uses the system of the checks and balances, which prevent domestic faction and revolt. The Federalists made it clear that they opposed a mob ruling and the minorities being denied their rights. The main danger the new republic faced, they argued, was the superior force of an “interested and overbearing majority.” (Madison, 72, No. 10) The Federalists solution on how to deal with majority faction is to “extend the sphere and you take in a greater variety of parties...
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...plan that he believed would help the new country recover from the economic crisis it was now in as a result of the Revolution. Jefferson disliked almost every aspect of this plan and encouraged Washington against it. Throughout their time as members of Washington's Cabinet, similar conflicts were frequent. The personal feud between Jefferson and Hamilton became evident to the public, causing dissent and segregation among the population....
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...evolved politically because in 1787 the Federalist Party conquered the American politics from the constitutional convention. During the constitutional convention the Federalists supported of the new government construction. During this time a newspaper conflict took place and Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison wrote political papers supporting the Constitution. As a result their writings were powerful enough to cause the constitution to be ratified. Hamilton was determined to renovate the American economy. Hamilton established national debt in order to earn good credit ranking. He believed a state debt is what strengthened the national government. Also, Hamilton created the First Bank of the United States and...
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...For example, he began the four-year term limit, the farewell address, as well as the Presidential Cabinet. One of the challenges he faced as President, was dealing with the war that broke out while he was in office. The war was between the French government and the French citizens, and Washington struggled with choosing a side to ally with. He was pressured by the two sides, the federalists, and the anti-federalists. The federalists wanted George Washington to send military aid to the French government, while the anti-federalists wanted him to help the citizens. Because of the pressure from both sides, Washington decided to remain neutral and completely stay out of the war. George Washington also achieved many great accomplishments as President. Thought to be his greatest victory was the signing of the National Bank Charter in 1791. Despite there being quite a bit of protest against the charter, mostly by the anti-federalists, Washington went ahead and approved the national bank as he thought it would be beneficial for the nation. By doing so, he paved the way for commerce and the industry that would financially rebuild...
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...split the country in two with ideology. On one side were the federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton and John Adams, and on the other were the democratic, or Jeffersonian, republicans, led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Federalists generally believed in a powerful, centralized national government, while the democratic republicans believe in states’ rights, and a weak federal government to prevent despotism. Alexander Hamilton mainly argued that federalism worked practically in the world because of the nature of people. He claimed that government should have the power to enforce the laws it passes when they are resisted, and only a strong federal...
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...to split between two primary political parties: The Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. Key Anti-Federalists, such as Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, were still avid supporters of this revolution. They wanted to do whatever they could in order to help, just as the French had done previously for them, (Oakes, et al., 241). Anti-Federalists were horrified at the idea that America might help its former ruler, Great Britain, after France and Spain declared war. Federalists, on the other hand, believed that Great Britain was a very strong nation and would aid greatly in America’s economy, thus it was in the nation’s best interest to remain allies. (Oakes, et al., 242). This division among people in the United...
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...separate yet united form of government, demonstrated by central government giving individual states abilities to regulate and make laws (Kierner, 2003). Meaning, individual states had independent power while still under a central government. An important document of its time, the Articles of Confederation unified the states and eased tensions over the possibility of absolute rule (Kierner, 2003). Additionally, it created a bond with the states and discouraged each state from seceding from the colonies (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, NARA, 2013). However, there were issues written in the Articles of Confederation that needed improvement or were severely weak, mostly because it was more of a friendship agreement between the states instead of a refined unification of the country. Demonstrated here in Article III of the Articles of Confederation, The said States hereby severally enter into a firm league of friendship with each other, for their common defense, the security of their...
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...The Articles of Confederation vs. the Constitution DeVry University The Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution are the historical documents that have been the building blocks of democracy that America is known for today. The Articles of Confederation are in many way an extension of what makes up the United States Constitution. In 1777, there wear a combination of thirteen states that came together to mold a type of government document that the United States could determine as “central” style of government. These states included New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. By late 1787, the Articles of Confederation were replaced by a more complete United States Constitution. There are several differences and similarities that lead to this American government transformation. The origination of the Articles of Confederation were a dynamic that was set into place in order to safeguard the union of states from any foreign control. It was a time in which the newly born states were yearning to be a set of sovereign states but stay independent from British colony control. Thus, the Articles of Confederation were originated. There were several important aspects of the Articles of Confederation that helped the United States reach a somewhat government goal. In the articles, states were allowed to collect taxes from its citizens...
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... a large amount of people considered themselves as patriotic. There was also a large amount who believed that America was not a united nation. George Washington believed that people needed to have common interests and ideas to be united. Since America is a divided nation with many different ideas and interests, it supports Washington’s claim that it can’t be united. The North and South caused a big conflict throughout the world. Their difference in beliefs about slavery caused them to drift apart. In Washington’s farewell address, he claims that the two continents will become united and will benefit from...
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...of Confederation, was unable to exercise real authority, although it did successfully deal with the western lands issue. The Confederation’s weakness in handling foreign policy, commerce and the Shays Rebellion spurred the movement to alter the Articles. Instead of revising the Articles, the well-off delegates to the Constitutional Convention created a charter for a whole new government. In a series of compromises, the convention produced a plan that provided for a vigorous central government, a strong executive, the protection for property, while still upholding republican principles and states’ rights. The Federalists met strong opposition from Anti-Federalists, especially in Virginia and New York, but through effective organization and argument, they succeeded in getting the Constitution ratified. By establishing the new national government, the Federalists checked the Revolutionary values of the popular republican government. Terms/names/topics:...
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