Anti Federalists vs Federalists began after the Revolutionary War and Americans had to find a way out of the economic depression because the war was expensive and left many colonies in debt. Anti-Federalists were those who opposed the development of a strong federal government and the Constitution of 1788, instead of power remaining in the hands of state and local governments. Federalists wanted a stronger national government and ratification of the Constitution to help properly manage the debt and tensions following the American Revolution. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The people who supported Anti-Federalism were people who lived in rural areas and had local power. The people who supported the Federalist were wealthy people who lived in large rural areas. Basically the middle class people supported the Anti-Federalist and the rich with business favored the Federalist. This is a bit similar to our current government power struggle, for example democrats vs republicans, democrats favored people who belong to the middle and lower class, while republicans favored people who belong to the upper class and are rich. they wanted to be like free agents, they wanted to spend and manage their money as they saw fit. They believed that no one should control how they spent and controlled their money. The Federalists were people who wanted the opposite. The debt and tension in Massachusetts, known as Shay's Rebellion, was a perfect example of why the United States wanted to focus on federal power. Before the Constitution there were the Articles of Confederation, a 13-article agreement between 13 founding states that covered issues of state sovereignty. The Articles of Confederation were primarily concerned with equal treatment of citizens, congressional development and delegation, international diplomacy, the military, fundraising, the legislative process, the relationship between the United States and Canada, and the war debt . The problem with the Articles of Confederation was that it was a very weak agreement to base a nation on and the document never referred to the United States of America. With the Articles of Confederation, congress became a federal form of government, but it was weak because it could not fund any of the resolutions it passed. For example, even though people could print money, there was no solid regulation of money, which led to rapid and deep depreciation. Although Congress had requested millions of dollars in 1780, it received less than 1.5 million over the course of three years, from 1781 to 1784. This inefficient and ineffective governance led to economic problems and eventually, albeit on a small scale, to rebellion. Chief of Staff Alexander Hamilton has seen firsthand the problems caused by a weak federal government, particularly those resulting from a lack of centralized fiscal and monetary policies. With Washington's approval, Hamilton gathered a group of nationalists at the Annapolis Convention of 1786, also known as the Meeting of Commissioners to remedy the defects of the federal government. Here, delegates from several states wrote a report on the condition of the federal government and how it would need to be expanded if it was to survive domestic turmoil and international threats as a sovereign nation. After the Articles of Confederation came the Constitution in 1788, where the Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation, greatly expands the powers of the federal government. With only 27 amendments, the Constitutionof the United States remains a supreme law of the United States that allows it to define, protect, and tax its citizens. Federalists who were the primary supporters of the Constitution; they were aided by federalist sentiment that had gained ground in many factions, uniting political figures. The Anti-Federalist movement, led by Thomas Jefferson, opposed the ratification of the Constitutions, especially the amendments that gave the federal government fiscal and monetary powers. The struggle between the two federalist and anti-federalist groups led to the birth of federalist newspapers and anti-federalist newspapers, it was a series of autograph writings by various exponents against the ratification of the Constitution and the protection of Constitutional rights. Among the Anti-Federalists were Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe. Jefferson was the leader among the Anti-Federalists, and other prominent Anti-Federalists included Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, and Richard Henry Lee. On the Federalist side there was Alexander Hamilton, George Washington's former chief of staff, he was a supporter of a strong federal government and founded the Federalist Party. He helped oversee the development of a national bank and tax system. Other famous Federalists were John Adams and John Jay. There were also three types of Anti-Federalists, the first type represented by politicians such as Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth of Connecticut. The second type of Anti-Federalists were people who were unaware (a person who had a part or interest in any action, issue or thing) of the Philadelphia debate and have some concerns about the potentiality (the ability to develop or (entry into force) of the Constitution to bring about the concentration of power in the new government. The third and final group of Anti-Federalists were those who wanted the least possible deviation from the Articles of Confederation and saw the partly national, partly federal compromise as totally untenable. Basically the Anti-Federalists wanted a weak federal government that did not threaten the rights of the states and wanted the Bill of Rights to declare and protect the rights of the people During ratification the Federalists promised the addition of a Bill of Rights Ratification was successful and the new government was formed in 1789. James Madison was a federalist or democratic republican who drafted the 10 amendments to the Constitution that became the United States Bill of Rights. Once again, Federalists believed that the creation of a large national government was not only possible, but necessary to create a more perfect union by improving relations between the states. Federalists also wanted to preserve the sovereignty and structure of the states, but to do so they supported a federal government with delegated powers. Everything that is not delegated to the federal government will be reserved for the people and the states. Their goal was to preserve the principle of government based on consensus, building government on the basis of popular sovereignty, without sacrificing the sovereignty of states. Today it appears that the government established by the Constitution is an improvement over that established by the Articles of Confederation. Reading and writing about the confrontation between federalist and anti-federalist I would have chosen the side of the federalists and I will explain why. My Anti-Federalists were people who were afraid of a strong government because they didn't want the government to control their lives and they wanted a little more freedom. Yes, people need their freedom, but what they need most is to be secured and debt free. The problem was the economic struggle and people were in debt because of the war with the federalists, we can make people manage the finances and the economy. The Anti-Federalists seemed spoiled because they believed that states were free agents.