Who Was George Mason An Anti-Federalist?

The Anti-Federalists argued that their form of government was more effective. They argued many points that were reasonable. Brutus wrote that he feared that our government would be controlled by a group of elites, and he thought that these elites would abuse the people’s rights by just doing what would only benefit them. Brutus thought once the elites started running our country, that they would be in power for a long time and no one could change their minds on certain views. (Brutus 1).

The Anti-federalist were the people who opposed the sanction of the constitution. They were Samuel Adams and John Hancock etc. They believed that the ratification of the constitution will lead to corruption and abuse of power by the government. The suggested constitution did not benefit the people as it should and did not have an assurance of the people’s right to assembly or bear arms. Anti-federalist believed in controlling government authority, therefore with the assumption that the new ratification will be most favorable to the wealthy, it was a threat to their beliefs— meaning that the poorer citizens will not be able to exercise their liberty for fear of double standard by the elite rulers. Most Anti-federalist were farmers and lower class citizens, so we could understand why they were intimidated by the rich and powerful Federalist— who had backgrounds of educations and could have easily manipulate the system for their own gratification.

George Mason was born on December 11, 1725 in Dogue's Neck, Virginia (now Fairfax County). His dad died when he was ten and was then raised by his uncle, John Mercer. His uncle was rumored to have a 1,500 volume library which was impactful on Mason’s life. Mason suffered from a general lack of health and chose to avoid public places. Despite that, he ran for office, and in 1759 he was elected to the House of Burgesses. During this time, he was labeled as a critic on many British programs. In 1766, he attempted to arrange economic pressure during the Stamp Act Crisis, by writing a letter to British merchants. Seeing as he would be in Dogue’s Neck for a long time, he built a mansion where he lived with his wife, who died during childbirth, along with their 11th and 12th children.

I was surprised that I actually agreed with what the Anti-federalist had to say. I found it to be more dense and harder then the federalist number ten. Once I found a good source and was able to understand what the points they are trying to make were, I found that I liked the views they stand for. I liked the idea of more representatives instead of just one for the whole nation. If each state had their own representative they would be able to better represent the interests of those people. Also they wouldn’t have to do so much damage control if each state was taking care of by their own specific representative. If each state had control over whom and what they taxed, they could better control the economy of that state. The people would feel

Most Americans did not trust the new government that was in place, but the Anti-Federalist was really skeptical of the government in general and strong national government. So in not trusting the government they did not approve of the new constitution. They were afraid it created a government that the people could not manage. Many notable Americans were Anti-Federalists. Some of the creators of the Anti-Federalist papers included George Mason and Elbridge Gerry. Both were present the Philadelphia Convention but had declined to sign the constitution. The Anti-Federalist believed that the Constitution had many imperfections. The Anti-Federalist believed the Constitution should have been constructed in a more public place and not behind closed

Although, the Federalists failed, they did have a few accomplishments during their run, including the organization of the surviving administrative machinery of national government, the establishment of traditions of federal budgetary integrity and credit competence, and the initiation of the important doctrine of noninterference in foreign affairs. Anti-Federalists were those who opposed everything that the federalists stood for, including their plan to create a strong U.S. federal government, and the ratification of the Constitution. Anti-Federalists were known to be unorganized compared to the Federalists, but they did have a great group of leaders who were significantly well known in state politics. The political elites of the Anti-Federalists included a wide range from James Winthrop in Massachusetts to George Mason of Virginia. These Anti-Federalists were also accompanied by a large group of normal Americans who were dominate in rural areas. The proposed Constitution was thought by the Anti-Federalists to be threatened to lead to political

n the history of the United States, the Anti-federalists were the individuals who opposed the implementation of a central federal government which would seek to oversee different operations in the country along with the ratification of the constitution. Instead, they advocated that power ought to remain within the hands of the local and state governments. Conversely, the Federalists advocated for a stronger government that would oversee the operations of all states. They also wanted the ratification of the existing constitution in order to help the government in managing its debts along with the tensions that were developing in particular states. The Federalist movement was formed by Alexander Hamilton, and it functioned as the first

The Anti-Federalist put up a long and hard fight, however, they were not as organized as the Federalists. While the Anti- Federalist had great concerns about the Constitution and National government, the Federalist had good responses to combat these concerns. The Federalist were and for the Constitution and feel the Article of Confederation were not worth ratifying, these should be scrapped altogether. They felt that the Articles limited the power of congress, because congress had to request cooperation from the states. Unlike the Anti-Federalist, the Federalist organized quickly, had ratifying conventions, and wrote the Federalist papers to rebut the Anti- Federalist arguments.

The Anti-Federalist party was made up of people who, for the most part, lived in the country. They were opposed to developing a federal government, and they did not want to ratify the Constitution, which, they claimed, threatened each free person’s liberites, until the authors included the Bill of Rights. (This granted individual rights of citizens. The Anti-Federalists wanted to write down these so that they could not be taken away from the people by the government like England had done.) Instead, they wanted the state governments to keep the power to prevent monarchies and dictatorships. Famous members of this party were Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, John Hancock, Mercy Otis Warren, George Mason, Richard Henry Lee, and James Monroe. They favored the Articles of Confederation. However, the Articles of Confederation had a few flaws: if a law was to pass, it would need a majority rule (9/13); it lacked a court system (nationally); and it was missing an executive branch. The Bill of Rights was appreciated because they wanted to make sure that individual rights could not be taken away. The Anti-Federalists may not have been a group that agreed with one another all the time, but as their opinions varied, more rights were thought of and protected. For example, one part of the group held the view that the sovereignty of states could be endangered

The first matter that Federalists and Anti-Federalists agreed on was that they both wanted a form of government. This means they both had a vision for this country. This vision was not the same as how what they lived before the American Independence; in fact, it was a vision that was different than anything came before. Sadly, the Federalists and the Anti- Federalists had different vision when forming a government. Federalists wanted a strong central government, and this meant unity for the country. They believed that this country should have the separation of powers and checks of balances to prevent a monarchy. The separation of powers is the

The Anti-Federalists believed that a strong central government would decrease the rights of the common people, and would not protect the rights of citizens. In Document 1, a Massachusetts farmer explains that the new constitution would decrease involvement of the common people in government, leaving it to be run by wealthy and highly educated men. The Anti-Federalists wanted all people to be involved in government, rather than a selected elite few. The Anti-Federalists also rallied against the establishment of a standing military. As said in Document 2, a military could easily exercise force to quiet those with concerns involving the government, and that the ideas of being free and peaceful do not involve a standing army. Perhaps one of the biggest concerns of the Anti-Federalists, was that there was nothing in the constitution that protected the rights of the people. Thomas Jefferson supported parts of the new constitution, but disliked that there was no Bill of Rights in the document. Jefferson wrote in a letter to James Madison saying “...Let me add that a bill of rights is what the people are entitled to….” (Doc 6). Jefferson believe that the people should have this Bill of Rights in the constitution to protect their personal freedoms and beliefs. With that he fully supported the ratification of the new

Of course, as history can tell us, Jefferson, an Antifederalist, or a Republican as they called them back then, favored little federal government control and more say for the small farmers and states (Davis 86-7). He believed that all Americans should be educated enough to read and understand the issues that were being voted on so that they could choose their own leaders and run for office themselves. In fact, he proposed a bill, which would guarantee some public education for all children, excluding slaves. He felt that this would allow people to have an opportunity to better themselves based on “talent and virtue” instead of “wealth and birth.” Even though his bill was voted on three times, it didn’t pass due to the fact that the majority of the Virginia Assembly thought that it was “too radical, too expensive, and too unnecessary (Davis 52-3).” Antifederalists were also anti-British, but friendly to France, their ally at the time (Davis 87).

Anti- Federalist were against the Constitution all together but most of all, I think the Anti-Federalist were against the fact that the state government’s would no longer have as much power like it did with the Articles of Confederation. The constitution supported the idea of a powerful and strong central government. The congress had the power to tax people, and make rules and regulations as it says in document two. With liberty being the Anti-Federalist’s biggest argument, the federalist got the idea that with all the power congress had, their freedom and rights would be threatened or even

While the anti-Federalists believed the Constitution and formation of a National Government would lead to a monarchy or aristocracy, the Federalists vision of the country supported the belief that a National Government based on the Articles of the Confederation was inadequate to support an ever growing and expanding nation.

The Antifederalists were obviously opposed to the Constitution, and they were in full support of the Articles of Confederation. The Antifederalists leaders, like Patrick Henry, believed the Constitution challenged individual’s liberty. The Antifederalists acted in factions. As the Federalists believed in a strong central government, the Antifederalists thought this would get in the way of state sovereignty. Furthermore, other factions within the Antifederalists believed a strong, central government would reflect the government of Great Britain, in which they were trying to get away from. Patrick Henry publicly spoke out against the Constitution claiming it would give the States very limited power. The Constitution was to contain a president, army, and the power to tax. Henry and others viewed this as basically Great Britain. They were afraid that the