He was the leader of the organized political faction known as the Federalists, and thus separated himself from the Republicans/Jeffersonians/Anti-Federalists, the party headed by Thomas Jefferson that opposed Federalism. Federalism entailed the belief that the government should be run by an elite group of white males to maintain order and the sharing of powers solely between the national government and the states. Republicans such as Thomas Jefferson, though, believed that Federalists were monarchists at heart, an insult that likened the Federalists to the British, the people of the country from which America had just recently become independent. Jefferson and Hamilton both agreed that the United States one day would become a global power, though they clashed when it came to how this vision should be carried out. The two great leaders just differed too greatly in their views over a few fundamental areas at the time, thus making the development of political parties inevitable.
Another purpose for the Federalist Constitution would be in regards to the safety of each individual state. They believed that each state should find a motive to make some sacrifices for the purpose of the general protection. The Anti-Federalist Party, led by Patrick Henry, objected to the constitution. They objected to it for a few simple reasons. Mostly the Anti-Federalists thought that the Constitution created too strong of a central government.
This desired Constitution created a huge dispute and argument between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. George Washington and Thomas R. Frazier (author of a newspaper excerpt) were both federalists and supporters of the new Constitution. George believed they had errors to correct, meaning he thought that the new Constitution would fix the problems that the Articles of Confederation caused. Thomas believed they were in need of having an efficient federal government. Both federalists believed the new Constitution would help with providing protection, the general welfare of the people and enforcing the laws.
A fundamental difference in the ideas of the Americans sprang from their views in regard to National and State rights. Some of them regarded the State as the ultimate unit. Others insisted that the Nation was sovereign. These two conflicting views run through American history down to the Civil War, and even in Washington’s time they existed in outline. Washington himself was a Federalist, believing that the Federation of the former Colonies should be made as compact and strongly knit as possible.
He though people could make their own good smart decisions. Jefferson was an anti-federalist, being that he started the republicans and was against the federalist, which Hamilton was. The constitution was used by Jefferson a lot because he wanted to limit the power of the central government and he wanted the power to be based around the legislative branch. Jefferson not just wanted wealthy people to do things but everyone because he knew that people had good enough knowledge. To conclude Jefferson did not want a strong central government.
At the Constitutional Convention the Federalists drew up plans for a new constitution while the Anti-Federalists complained and picked apart their plan, even though the Anti-Federalists had no plan of their own. The main issue the Anti-Federalists had with the new constitution was that they thought that it would not protect the rights of states and individuals. Federalists argued that a stronger government was necessary, not to impede individual rights, but to be able to pass and enforce laws. Federalists also argued a stronger bond between states was needed to improve the economic state of the country. Under the Articles of Confederation each state printed their own currency which became worthless in any other
Even though the constitution was passed, much to William Shatnire’s satisfaction, there was still a good deal of debate over whether it should be a strict or loose interpretation. Shatnire’s fellow federalists thought it should be loose and the Anti-federalists wanted it to be strict. Hamilton, just like Shatnire, believed in a loose interpretation of the Constitution, which meant that “the Constitution “implied” the power to use whatever means were “necessary and proper” to carry out its enumerated powers” (248), so that the central government could become more powerful. One situation in which William Shatnire witnessed the resulting factors of the newly ratified Constitution was a financial problem the country faced, during the first years of the new federal government, which was a time when it had hard time raising money. At first the Congress took on a tariff on imports known as the Tariff of 1789.
This quote by Ted Yoho asserts the importance of the United States Constitution in establishing our beliefs. Even though this document made a great impact on our nation at the time of its writing, the path to ratification was not straight forward. In the summer of 1787, debate was waged in the newspapers, articles, and state conventions regarding the division of power among groups. The Federalists favored a strong national government and therefore, supported the Constitution. The opponents, however, named themselves the Anti-Federalists, and they argued that the new plan handed too much power to the central government.
Faction, a problem could not avoid in American society because of the vast different opinions. In favor of republican, James Madison emphasized that the strong Constitution has the control to deal with violence and aggression caused by faction which those in favor of democracy could not because of its instability government. Furthermore, in the federalist no.51 he stated that the Constitution’s separation of power also helps mitigate the problem of factionalism. Believing in pluralist theory that power is relatively broadly distributed among many more or less organized interest groups in society, and the fear of majoritarian rule, James Madison one more time convinced that the Constitution will mitigate the problem of factionalism by diving
Federalist vs. anti- federalist Federalists liked having a strong central government--the kind with the president and congress and the Supreme Court. Anti-Federalists, however, wanted strong state governments--they wanted more laws to be made by state governors and state senators. 8. A federal system of government Federalists favored a strong central government as opposed to the anti federalists who favored a weaker central government. Federalists wished the US constitution to pass as it was before the amendments and the bill of rights.