Federalists Vs Anti Federalism Essay

Federalists and Anti-Federalists were the two primary political parties at the time the Constitution was written. However, these two groups preferred different types of government. Nevertheless, Federalists wanted a government that was strong and powerful at the heart and was ruled mostly by the upper class, while Anti-Federalists preferred a government that wasn’t ruled so much by the central government, but more ruled by the states so that they could have their own rights. On one hand, Federalists believed that we should’ve had a big federal government that would act as an overseer to the states. The reason why Federalists thought that the government should be like that was so they could enforce necessary laws that would prevent corruption
and increase safety. They supported the Constitution as it was written, with a legislative, executive, and judicial branch each having their written powers derived from the Constitution, but meanwhile having a checks and balances system put in place so that no group has too much power. One good example of a Federalist was Alexander Hamilton, and he claimed that Federalism was a good idea when he claimed, “The difference indeed consists, not in the quantity but kind of vices, which are incident to the various classes; and here the advantage of character belongs to the wealthy.” (Hamilton, 1788.) Ultimately, Hamilton’s point is that the upper class should rule the government because they have more experience and are likely more educated and could run a country easier. The connection between Hamilton’s quote and what Federalists wanted is that the upper class should make up the government because they will have more experience and can watch what’s going on and create laws that help point our country in the right direction. Alternatively, Anti-Federalists liked a government that was more ruled by the people and the states rather than having a central federal government that is watching over everyone.
Thus, the reason why they wanted it to be this way is because if the federal government became too powerful, then it would quickly be able to take control of people to the point where the government would become all-powerful and serve as a tyranny to the United States, which is what they just fought a war over to end. When Melancton Smith pointed out his thoughts about his issue with Federalism, he spoke, “If the government is so constituted as to admit but few to exercise the powers of it, it will, according to the natural course of things, be in their hands” (Smith, 1788.) What Smith is announcing is that if the government becomes too large, then it will have full control over the people and we will end up with a similar government as to what we had with King George. The connection between this quote and what Anti-Federalists wanted is that both ideas share an identical bottomline: If the government becomes too large and powerful, then it will result in a tyranny. With all things considered, Federalists and Anti-Federalists did not agree on how the government should be set up. Alexander Hamilton and Melancton Smith were debating on their views of what a government should look like. Federalists wanted a big government ruled primarily by the upper class, while Anti-Federalists wanted a small government
ruled by the people of the states.