United States Constitution and Federalism Essay

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Constitution of the United States was ratified after lengthy debate, mainly focused around issues related to the powers that would be bequeathed to the federal government. Although a gross oversimplification, the debate can be loosely qualified as being one between federalists on the one hand, and antifederalists on the other. Federalists, among them founding father luminaries from George Washington and Benjamin Franklin to James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay, believed that a strong central government was the key to forming a successful and resilient new nation in the immediate aftermath of the colonies' divorce from Great Britain. The federalist views permeated the discussions and debates at the Philadelphia Convention, at which the Constitution of the United States was hammered out, drafted, and eventually ratified into the law of the land. The Constitution of the United States replaced the Articles of Confederation, which called for a looser union of states than that which was proposed by the federalists. Antifederalists varied in their stances, but mainly believed that the United States should be bound by a loose confederation, and that state governments should supersede that of a centralized federal power in order to prevent tyranny and oligarchy. Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry were among the most vocal antifederalists, with some prominent framers like John Dickinson emerging as moderates determined to reach a compromise that would become the foundation stone of the Constitution.

Although antifederalist sentiments did make their way into the Constitution of the United States after it was ratified, the document that became the cornerstone of American law bears far more federalist features. As Rose (1990) points out, antifederalism was all but silenced in the Constitution and represents the "road not taken" in American history (p. 74). Federalism has become central to the identity of the United States, to the point where the Civil War was later fought with federalist ideals in mind, and the constitutions of many other emerging democracies since the United States have modelled their constitutions after the American one (Rose, 1990).

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However, antifederalists did make their stamp on the Constitution and on American history.

One of the reasons why the Constitutional Convention ended up being as drawn out and lengthy as it was, was due to the vehement arguments in favor of adding what would become the Bill of Rights and additional amendments to the Constitution. The amendments to the Constitution of the United States focus much more on personal liberties, freedoms, and rights guaranteed to the citizens of the nation; whereas the body of the Constitution reflects mainly issues such as the structure and function of the federal government, and the system of checks and balances between the judiciary, executive branch, and legislative branch. As Massey (1990) points out, one of the amendments to the Constitution that was particularly antifederalist in tone is the 9th Amendment pointing out the rights of citizens. Massey (1990) notes that the 9th Amendment was so significant as to become entrenched in the individual states' constitutions as well. In essence, the 9th Amendment was an antifederalist response to the federalist body of the Constitution and represents the great tradition of compromise that characterized the decision-making process in American political discourse. For example, James Madison was a federalist who nevertheless sponsored the creation of a Bill of Rights that would answer to the fears held by many antifederalists. Many staunch federalists believed that the Bill of Rights was "unnecessary," (Finkelman, 1990, p. 301). Instead of shutting down the debate in Philadelphia, men like Madison and Dickenson ensured that the concerns and voices of all Americans would be heard and acknowledged.

John Dickinson was "one of the most prominent men in American political….....

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