Anti Federalists Dbq

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After the founding fathers met in Annapolis and Mount Vernon, they realized the need to “scrap” the Articles of Confederation and replace it with a new Constitution. This new Constitution would be ratified in 1789. However, before it was ratified, a group of people known as the Anti-Federalists disapproved of the Constitution because they stated that it jeopardized states’ rights, individual rights, and the vision for an Agrarian Republic. Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and George Mason were the leaders of the Anti-Federalists and they strongly opposed having a strong government and weaker states (which would create by the Constitution). They preferred a strong states and a weaker government. After the American Revolution, many Americans liked their new freedoms that they gained and did not want to see them being taken again. The Articles of Confederation intentionally was made very weak to prevent the United States from turning into a monarchial system like Great Britain. As expected, when Hamilton, Madison, and Jay tried to encourage ratification with “The Federalist Papers”, the Anti-Federalists were very distressed with the vast powers of the American Government that the Constitution outlined. …show more content…
After the creation of the Articles of Confederation, many states designed their own state legislatures that had a Bill of Rights. When requested for the ratification of the Constitution, many Anti-Federalists saw the absenteeism of a Bill of Rights. This in turn caused Virginia, the most populated state at that time, to not ratify the Constitution. After the Anti-Federalists were ensured a Bill of Rights in the first ten amendments of the Constitution such as the freedom of speech and to bear arms, the Anti-Federalists were calmed and accepted the