The Anti-Federalists Objections to the Constitution - Essay Example

The Anti-federalists believed that the power of the government should be concentrated in the legislature since it was the most democratic branch. They maintained that such a government offered the United States citizens the best protection for their essential rights. The Anti-federalist argued that the only way to ensure there existed democracy was through the allocation of power through particular texts. Therefore, they feared that the constitution that was being endorsed by the federalists delegated excess powers to the central government instead of these powers going to the states.

They also pointed out that there was allocation of more authority to the judiciary and executive at the expense of the congress. It was explicitly clear in their minds that the federalists and their supporters were threatening the freedoms that Americans had defended against the Britain. Brutus incorporated these ideas into his attack against the proposed constitution. He suggests that a large republic would not succeed in a large country like the United States since it comprises of citizens who are diverse in many ways.

According to him, such diversity would interfere with the operations and smooth running of the central government since many opinions and ideas would clash. Brutus believes that a republic can work in a small society like a state (Storing 37). Brutus also argued that the liberties of the US citizens were in danger since the federal government was being given a lot of powers that can be misused for personal gains. He gave examples of Britain and Rome where power had been misused and advised Americans not to follow the same trend.

The freedom of the commonwealth was denied and their constitution overturned by their strong army which had been given powers. Julius Cesar who was appointed to lead the command capitalized on the loopholes in the constitution and changed it from a free republic into despotism. He also pointed out that the fear from a large standing army was that the rulers may use them to promote their personal ambitions. They could also overturn the governments’ constitutional powers and gain their own powers to enable them dictate the US people.

Brutus and other Anti-federalists advocates looked at themselves as the defenders of a self government that was going to offer outstanding leadership to the people of America. They supported leadership in small republics or the states with the rulers accessing limited powers that can not be misused. By giving examples of Rome and Britain where power had been misused, Brutus wanted the Federalists to learn from other countries and make adequate changes to the constitution. James Madison opposed the objections from the Anti-federalists by arguing that the government had to be designed to stop the politicians and the people from using it for their own selfish gains.

He had contributed immensely to the constitution and this is why he countered the objections from the Anti-federalists strongly. Among the many common features in the constitution was the idea of a balanced government system where the national authority was limited and reserving definite powers to the people through the local government. Madison also made other key contributions to the constitution such as the creation of a national legislature and the national chief executive. His strongest argument in support for the constitution was that, it had come up with a strong government capable of controlling the