Anti-Federalists versus Federalists began after the Revolutionary War and Americans had to find a way out of the economic depression because the war was costly 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 wanting power to remain 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 Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayPeople who supported the Anti-Federalists were people who lived in rural areas and held local power. The Federalist's supporters were wealthy people who lived in large rural areas. Basically, middle-class people supported the Anti-Federalists and wealthy business owners favored the Federalists. This is a bit like our current struggle between government power, for example Democrats versus Republicans, Democrats favored people who are middle and lower class and Republicans favored people who are upper and lower class. who are rich. wanted to be like free agents, they wanted to spend and manage their own 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 tensions in Massachusetts, known as Shay's Rebellion, were 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 primarily concerned equal treatment of citizens, congressional development and delegation, international diplomacy, the armed forces, fundraising, lawmaking, relations 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 on which to found a nation and the document never referred to the United States of America. With the Articles of Confederation, Congress became a form of federal government, but it was weak in that it could not finance any of the resolutions it passed. For example, even though people could print money, there was no strong regulation of money, which led to rapid and deep depreciation. Although Congress requested millions of dollars in the 1780s, it received less than $1.5 million over a three-year period from 1781 to 1784. This ineffective and ineffective governance led to economic woes and a possible rebellion, albeit on a small scale. Chief of Staff Alexander Hamilton saw first-hand the problems caused by a weak federal government, particularly those that stemmed from a lack of centralized fiscal and monetary policies. With Washington's approval, Hamilton assembled 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 prepared a report on the state of the federal government and onhow it needed to be expanded if it was to survive domestic unrest and international threats as a sovereign nation. After the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution of 1788, where the Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation, greatly expanded the powers of the federal government. With only 27 amendments, the US Constitution remains the supreme law of the United States allowing it to define, protect and tax its citizens. Federalist who were the main supporters of the Constitution; they were aided by federalist sentiment that had gained ground across many factions, uniting political figures. The Anti-Federalist, led by Thomas Jefferson fought against the ratification of the Constitution, primarily against the amendments which gave the federal government fiscal and monetary powers. The struggle between the two groups, the Federalist and the Anti-Federalist, resulted in the publication of the Federalist and Anti-Federalist newspapers. It was a series of handwritten essays by various figures against the ratification of the Constitution and the protection of the Constitution. 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 was Alexander Hamilton, former chief of staff to George Washington, proponent of a strong federal government and founder of 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 being 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 with a share or interest in an action, issue, or thing) of the debate in Philadelphia and who had some concerns about the potential ( the ability to develop or (see) the Constitution to lead to the concentration of power in the new government The third and final group of Anti-Federalists were those who wanted as few departures from the Articles of Confederation as possible and considered. that a compromise that was part national and part federal was completely untenable. Basically, the Anti-Federalists wanted a weak federal government that would not threaten state rights and wanted the Bill of Rights to declare and protect the rights of the people. Upon 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 Republic who drafted the 10 Amendments to the. Constitution, which became the United States Bill of Rights. Once again, Federalists believed that the establishment 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 argued for a federal government with delegated powers. Anything not delegated to the federal government would be reserved for the people and the states. Their goal was to preserve the principle of government by consent, building government on the basis of popular sovereignty, without sacrificing state sovereignty. Today it appears that the government established by the Constitution is an improvement over that which was established by the Articles of Confederation. By reading and.