Federalist Vs Antifederalist

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Anti-Federalist #2 by Michael S. Rozeff by Michael S. Rozeff DIGG THIS Toward the end of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), the 13 colonies joined together under the Articles of Confederation (1781–1788), which was succeeded by the U.S. Constitution in 1788. The Constitution created the Federal government and the United States of America. Several of the Founding Fathers (John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton) in 1787–1788 launched a campaign to get the new Constitution adopted by the 13 states. Their essays, collected in the Federalist Papers, contain powerful and persuasive arguments by writers who were skilled users of rhetoric. The Federalist Papers helped launch the ship of American state on its voyage. The entire country went along for the ride. The course adopted at the outset is the same course we are still on. Arguments expressed in the Federalist Papers are still made today. Sentiments they expressed still persuade Americans today that they need a central government with appreciable powers. Looking back, we can now see that very little time passed before the ship’s motion revealed its course was opposite the hope represented by "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Section 2 of the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, for example, imposed a fine of up to $2,000 and a sentence of up to 2 years in jail for anyone convicted of uttering, writing, printing or assisting in causing to be produced speech that brought any arm of the Federal government into "contempt or disrepute" or to "excite against them...the hatred of the good people of the United States." The American ship of state early on began to run into tyrannical waters and it still does. It has often instituted laws (with approving majorities) that decimate the rights of not only large minorities but also majorities of the American people. Logic suggests
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