02.03 anti federalist assessment

The federalists and anti-federalists had a very intense debate during the ratification of the constitution. Both sides had to make several compromises in order to be able to do something better for the people. I myself agree more with the views of the anti-federalists. They believed that the power should be shared by the states in order for things to be fair. If the Federal government had all the power, chaos would rule our way of life. The individual rights and shared power is what makes things flow smooth in our government.
James Madison and Alexander Hamilton were some of the many Federalists of the time. They believed that a stronger centralized government should be established. Federalists believed that “[in] [a] republican government, the legislative authority necessarily predominates.” They had a very strong attitude about a government ruling over the people. They also said that “[in] framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.” They wanted to control everything, unlike the anti-federalists that believed that the power should be given to the states in order to create a better government for the people.
Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee were the main anti-federalists of the time. Anti-federalists strongly believed in a weaker federal government so the power could be shared and the rights of the people would not be lost. The name does not seem like they like federalism, but they actually just do not believe that a central power is necessary. Something that anti-federalists said is that “[t]he territory of the United States is of vast extent; it now contains near three millions of souls, and is capable of containing much more than ten times that number. Is it practicable for a country, so large and so numerous as they will soon become, to elect a representation, that will speak their sentiments, without their becoming so numerous as to be incapable of transacting public business? It certainly is not.” This quote represents their views of growth and the need for a shared government so chaos would not strike. They also believed that “[as] long as we can preserve our unalienable rights, we are in safety. “ This is a very true statement. It is very accurate in our society today. Everyone knows that as long as the rights of the people are respected, no sort of trouble will strike the nation.
My views are anti-federalists since it has been shown all throughout history that when there is one source of power, they tend to take advantage and violate people rights. The whole point of the United States was to create a new nation where the people had the power and they were not being abused. Anti-federalists were able to see the problem in having a strong centralized government. They knew that separating the powers to the states would create more peace and a sense of safety.