What do the Anti-Federalists support: The political thought of the Constitution's opponents

Author: Herbert J. Sturges (USA)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-01
Features: In this book, the author provides a brilliant introduction to the ideas and principles of the Anti-Federalists. Although there was no single Anti-Federalist ideology, the author strives to identify the fundamental aspects of Anti-Federalist thought and reveals three core considerations of the Anti-Federalists. Specifically, they are: the voluntary dependence of the people on the government, which leads to the voluntary observance of laws by the people; the government's responsibility to the people; and what kind of citizens would uphold a republican government. The Anti-Federalists faced a dilemma: they had to support a strong federal United States while also upholding smaller communities that governed themselves. In this book, the contradictions of the Anti-Federalist stance are systematically discussed, and the author's comprehensive elaboration allows us to reassess the role of the Anti-Federalists in the American founding process and their enduring influence on the themes and tensions of American political life.