Anti Federalist Analysis

While federalists preferred a stronger central government and the Anti’s were the exact opposite a compromise was to be made in order to satisfy the majority of the people. This comprise was the bill of rights, which gives the basic freedoms to the people and limits the power of the government (consent of the governed). The elastic clause allows a large amount of power to be gained when it is wrongly interpreted by those holding government places. This is often used purposefully by the executive and the legislative branches to gain power, but by doing this it also allows them to add a few restrictions on the rights of the people and the states. Another clause that is questioned regarding the balance of power between people, states, and government is the Commerce clause. This clause gives congress the power to complete foreign transactions regarding countries, states, Indian tribes, etc. Although it seems like a flawless clause, Congress often uses this power to control the commerce between states, and the citizens within those states. With this happening the Legislative branch exercises its growth in power making it more like a group of
This appeased the Anti-Federalists because they preferred a weaker central government and feared a powerful central government due to the fact the original constitution did not address the people’s rights allowing the government to in a way, remove them from the people. The tenth amendment appeased the anti-federalists just as much, possibly more than the first amendment because it states that any powers not listed in the constitution are reserved for the states and their peoples. Considering who the anti-federalists are this was a big part of the compromise called the Bill of Rights that was required in order to appease both groups (Federalists & Anti-Federalists) regarding the amount of powers their government was given by the