A loose organization of delegates to the Constitutional Convention of
1787 who shared political goals became known as the Anti-Federalists.
They opposed the policies for a strong central government supported by
a larger group of delegates, members of the Federalist Party. The presence of the Anti-Federalists forced some compromises during the writing
of the Constitution. The government created by the Constitution, however, was stronger than the Anti-Federalists desired.
Anti-Federalists worked during the writing of the Constitution to
preserve the power of state government. Mindful of their experience
under an overbearing English government, they sought to limit the
power of a single national government. Some Anti-Federalists believed
that state government was important for maintaining control over local
affairs and keeping power in the hands of the people rather than an elite
ruling class. Other Anti-Federalists simply wanted most governmental
power to come from the state rather than from a central national government. Still others were concerned that a strong central government could
too easily violate individual rights to liberty (freedom). Although they
often spoke in terms of democratic governance by the people, the AntiFederalists generally did not favor political rights or civil liberties for
women, slaves, and similar groups.
Although the Anti-Federalists managed to work out some compromises during the Constitutional Convention, many opposed the final
draft of the Constitution. They felt that, on balance, it gave too much
power to the federal government. When Alexander Hamilton
(1755–1804), James Madison (1751–1836), and John Jay
(1745–1829) wrote the Federalist Papers to support the ratification (acceptance) of the Constitution, Anti-Federalists wrote articles to encourage the defeat of the Constitution.
The Anti-Federalists failed to defeat the Constitution, which was
ratified in 1788. They generated enough political pressure, however, to
force the Federalists to agree to incorporate a Bill of Rights into the
Constitution. Containing the first ten amendments to the Constitution,
the Bill of Rights protects individual liberty from unfair conduct by the
federal government. The bill also says that any power not granted to the
federal government is reserved to the states and the people.
The Anti-Federalists never organized themselves into a political
party. As a group, they faded under the first installation of the federal
government in 1789. The aggressive economic policies of Hamilton,
who was the secretary of the Treasury under President George
Washington (1743–1826; served 1801–9), stirred more opposition to
the Federalists. Many who had aligned with the Anti-Federalists organized under Thomas Jefferson’s leadership to oppose the Federalists as
Democratic-Republicans. The Democratic-Republican Party survived
well into the nineteenth century.