Skip to main content

The Anti-Federalist Papers - Part 1


The underlying foundation of The Study (my current project) are the principles that the founding fathers held dear with the addition of the advancements of modern society. Part of creating the world after The Study is staying true to the original ideals that formed this country.

              The purpose of the anti-federalists was very similar to mine: freedom from tyranny by any form of elite, preserve community identity and personal freedoms. One of the greatest fears of the anti-federalists was that the will of the people would be drowned out by the will of the wealthy. This is something that appears to be happening now, which makes a closer look at these ideals that a large percentage of founders ascribed to.

              The Federalist Papers are a collection of documents that is frequently found in high school social science curriculum, and contains ideas much closer to the Constitution the country holds in such high regard. The anti-federalist papers are mostly unknown to society, even those I’ve spoken with that enjoyed history in school and had great teachers. This side of the argument is less represented, and its key players are obscure in our modern minds relative to their ideological opponents. It is said that history is written by the victors. This fact alone would explain why the anti-federalists ideas are studied less frequently, even though they are responsible for such important documents as the Bill of Rights.

              The antifederalists and I also have a shared cherished belief: that good nature and strong wills are innate in all people. They wanted the laws to allow for the maximum amount that people can act as their best selves. This is something they thought would be prevented by a strong central government, as the creation of classes lead to behavior that marginalizes the other based on wealth.

              When I first read the introduction to the ideal of the opposing side of the constitutional debate, I thought that no one would listen to these ideas because they seem contradicted by the baser natures of people. When I realized that this faction was large and a strong voice in the conventions and the nation’s early years, I knew that reading their work is just as important as the more common Federalist Papers.
              The ideals of the anti-federalists could have been what shaped our country. I think it would have been more difficult, but worth it in the long run. I’m withholding my final opinion on the type of government I think would work until The Study is published, but I think a critical read of both sides of the debates that formed this country is key to understand what the founders of this country wanted for the people. It will take time to read and digest all of their works, but I will share with you their wisdom and influence on our nation’s ideals as I come to understand them better. I will do the same for the Federalist Papers, and any other source documents I enjoy through my research.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What Conversation?

I want to talk to people about issues that matter, without starting an argument. Members of the generations who have been here longer than I have say that society has lost the ability to have discourse where there is disagreement. I agree with this assessment. Through this conversation I want to work through the issues, or around them if they are too emotionally charged. The purpose of this blog is to open to discussion the issues that I am going to tackle through optimistic satire in my upcoming book The Study . I have chosen to ignore most of the topics that seem to polarize American society the most. However, there are some issues I feel are so important that they need to be addressed, and I will brave the storm with the hope of starting the conversation. Through this conversation, I hope to find agreement among different groups with the purpose of implementing solutions to the ills that need not plague an industrialized, modern society.
Post a Comment
Read more

What If We Addressed Problems Holistically

What If… We treated problems holistically instead of individually?               One of the things I realized early on in my adult education was the relationship between seemingly disparate ideas. My bachelor’s degree focused on the relationship between biological equilibrium, environmental factors, and the mental reaction of individuals. From the beginning, I knew that it was folly to think that any of these categories could be studied in a vacuum. It did not take long for me to realize that it was not only in my own specialty that this was true, but in many other aspects of life. Yet, the compartmentalized view of the world is how the general populace perceives its environment, and social problems in particular.               As an educator, I found myself unable to teach only the subject with which I was tasked. I found the need for students t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Composite War

              A declared war seems more plausible now than in any point in my life, aside from the days after September 11, 2001. You may disagree with me, but you’re reading this, so you get my opinion. In my more negative musings on this fear, I wonder what could spark this war and what would characterize the two sides. After today’s research, mostly accidental, I have a bleak fiction to share with everyone, in the hopes that this doesn’t happen.               The Federalist Papers discuss many predictions about the fate of the nation. One of the fates they discuss is a civil war as the only way to reconcile dissent among the states. In order for a faction to form, a strong state will act as a primary aggressor who will pull neighbors into their fold by philosophical or economic means. In the Civil War, this character was played by South Carolina, an...
Post a Comment
Read more