The role of the Anti-Federalist Papers in the creation of the Bill of Rights is often overlooked. However, it was because of these documents that many rights were added to the constitution! Many people may not know this, but two years after George Washington became president, in 1789, there was no Bill of Rights in place to help protect Americans' rights in America. Instead, there was simply a U.S Constitution that did not have any additional protection for American's rights other than what could be stated within it because term limits had not been put in place. Yet, neither had judicial review or federalism either.
Nowhere in the constitution could it be found that Americans are granted freedom of speech or religion, for instance. For this reason, people were afraid that the federal government would have too much power and take away some of their rights. Because of this, many Anti-Federalists came together to discuss what they wanted in the new constitution to prevent the government from becoming too powerful. These men did not want a monarchy like Great Britain had, which is why they had demanded term limits on the president of the United States.
In 1789, congress ordered James Madison to produce a list of amendments added to the U.S constitution. He produced a list containing 20 different rights and freedoms for Americans and sent them back to congress, who then voted and approved all but two of these items: freedom of speech and freedom from quartering soldiers in your home. However, later these rights were brought up again by James Madison himself after he had seen Anti-Federalist papers such as "Federal Farmer," who suggested 5 new amendments about quartering soldiers in American homes (the newly founded United States Government had not provided places for soldiers to live). This letter soon became part of the Anti-Federalist papers. After hearing this letter, Congress voted on it and agreed that Americans should have freedom from quartering soldiers in their homes!
Later on, other parts of the Bill of Rights were added to the constitution as well. For example, an Amendment was proposed that gave American’s freedom of speech and freedom of religion by James Madison, who had seen these rights in action through The Virginia act for religious freedom. This act helped establish religious freedoms not just for Christians but also for atheists and others alike because it said everyone could believe what they wanted! Once again, this right was brought up in "An Old Whig," which is another Anti-Federalist paper. After seeing this paper, congress voted yes on these amendments about freedom of speech and freedom from quartering soldiers in your home.Although the Bill of Rights did not come into effect until 1791, many attributes can be found in the Anti-Federalist papers, which helped influence congress to vote "yes" on these amendments. The Anti-Federalists who wrote these papers were essential to writing the Bill of Rights, so thank you, Anti-Federalists!One man was responsible for using his position as a journalist to publicize The Anti-Federalist papers and bring them into the public light. His name was Noah Webster, and he is responsible for writing a speller book that elementary schools still use today. He also wrote a history book about America which inspired people to learn more about their country's history.In 1787, many Americans were concerned about what kind of constitution would be formed because they did not want a monarchy where there weren't any term limits or checks on power so that no one branch of government would have too much power. For this reason, James Madison created a list containing 20 different amendments called the Bill of Rights, which would later become part of the United States Constitution. Although these rights were not immediately implemented, they did get put into the constitution later on. The rights that were included in this list were freedom of speech and religion from being persecuted, freedom from quartering soldiers in homes, right to a speedy trial, security from search and seizure without a warrant, protection from self-incrimination, right to trial by jury if accused of a crime that carried a sentence of at least six months in a prison sentence or a USD 20 fine. These 20 rights would not have been approved if not for "Anti-Federalist papers" such as "An Old Whig," which helped make these amendments come to life!
Some Anti-Federalists wanted the articles in The Bill of Rights to be added in individual amendments to have time to process each one. Still, others wanted it all in one amendment so it would be easier to understand. Congress voted on these 20 rights for The Bill of Rights and ultimately decided that they should all go together because it made it easier for people to remember what rights came next!Finally, the rights listed in the Bill of Rights were not immediately implemented. They did get put into the constitution later on. The Anti-Federalists people who wrote these papers were essential to writing The Bill of Rights, and so thank you, Anti-Federalists! Overall, we owe a big thanks to those who helped create this revolutionizing document known as The Bill of Rights, a part of our constitution today.
The Anti-Federalists opposed the ratification of the 1787 U.S. Constitution because they feared that the new national government would be too powerful and thus threaten individual liberties, given the absence of a bill of rights.
Their opposition was an important factor leading to the adoption of the First Amendment and the other nine amendments that constitute the Bill of Rights.
The Constitution, drafted at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, needed to be ratified by nine or more state conventions (and by all states that wanted to take part in the new government). A clash erupted over ratification, with the Anti-Federalists opposing the creation of a strong national government and rejecting ratification and the Federalists advocating a strong union and adoption of the Constitution.
Anti-Federalists were concerned about excessive power of national government
The Anti-Federalists included small farmers and landowners, shopkeepers, and laborers. When it came to national politics, they favored strong state governments, a weak central government, the direct election of government officials, short term limits for officeholders, accountability by officeholders to popular majorities, and the strengthening of individual liberties. In terms of foreign affairs, they were pro-French.
To combat the Federalist campaign, the Anti-Federalists published a series of articles and delivered numerous speeches against ratification of the Constitution.
The independent writings and speeches have come to be known collectively as The Anti-Federalist Papers, to distinguish them from the series of articles known as The Federalist Papers, written in support of the new constitution by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the pseudonym Publius.
Although Patrick Henry, Melancton Smith, and others eventually came out publicly against the ratification of the Constitution, the majority of the Anti-Federalists advocated their position under pseudonyms. Nonetheless, historians have concluded that the major Anti-Federalist writers included Robert Yates (Brutus), most likely George Clinton (Cato), Samuel Bryan (Centinel), and either Melancton Smith or Richard Henry Lee (Federal Farmer).
By way of these speeches and articles, Anti-Federalists brought to light issues of:
- the excessive power of the national government at the expense of the state government;
- the disguised monarchic powers of the president;
- apprehensions about a federal court system;
- fears that Congress might seize too many powers under the necessary and proper clause;
- concerns that republican government could not work in a land the size of the United States;
- and their most successful argument against the adoption of the Constitution — the lack of a bill of rights to protect individual liberties.
Anti-Federalists pressured for adoption of Bill of Rights
The Anti-Federalists failed to prevent the adoption of the Constitution, but their efforts were not entirely in vain.
Although many Federalists initially argued against the necessity of a bill of rights to ensure passage of the Constitution, they promised to add amendments to it specifically protecting individual liberties. Upon ratification, James Madison introduced twelve amendments during the First Congress in 1789. The states ratified ten of these, which took effect in 1791 and are known today collectively as the Bill of Rights.
Although the Federalists and Anti-Federalists reached a compromise that led to the adoption of the Constitution, this harmony did not filter into the presidency of George Washington.
Political division within the cabinet of the newly created government emerged in 1792 over fiscal policy. Those who supported Alexander Hamilton’s aggressive policies formed the Federalist Party, while those who supported Thomas Jefferson’s view opposing deficit spending formed the Jeffersonian Party.
The latter party, led by Jefferson and James Madison, became known as the Republican or Democratic-Republican Party, the precursor to the modern Democratic Party.
Election of Jefferson repudiated the Federalist-sponsored Alien and Sedition Acts
The Democratic-Republican Party gained national prominence through the election of Thomas Jefferson as president in 1801.
This election is considered a turning point in U.S. history because it led to the first era of party politics, pitting the Federalist Party against the Democratic-Republican Party. This election is also significant because it served to repudiate the Federalist-sponsored Alien and Sedition Acts — which made it more difficult for immigrants to become citizens and criminalized oral or written criticisms of the government and its officials — and it shed light on the importance of party coalitions.
In fact, the Democratic-Republican Party proved to be more dominant due to the effective alliance it forged between the Southern agrarians and Northern city dwellers.
The election of James Madison in 1808 and James Monroe in 1816 further reinforced the importance of the dominant coalitions within the Democratic-Republican Party.
With the death of Alexander Hamilton and retirement of John Quincy Adams from politics, the Federalist Party disintegrated.
After the War of 1812 ended, partisanship subsided across the nation. In the absence of the Federalist Party, the Democratic-Republican Party stood unchallenged. The so-called Era of Good Feelings followed this void in party politics, but it did not last long. Some scholars continue to see echoes of the Federalist/Anti-Federalist debates in modern party politics.
This article was originally published in 2009. Mitzi Ramos is an Instructor of Political Science at Northeastern Illinois University.
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Sweezy v. New Hampshire (1957) stands as the first U.S. Supreme Court case to expound upon the concept of academic freedom though some earlier cases mention it.
Most constitutional academic freedom issues today revolve around professors’ speech, students’ speech, faculty’s relations to government speech, and using affirmative action in student admissions.
Although academic freedom is regularly invoked as a constitutional right under the First Amendment, the Court has never specifically enumerated it as one, and judicial opinions have not developed a consistent interpretation of constitutional academic freedom or pronounced a consistent framework to analyze such claims.