August 5, Clip 1 Clip 2 Clip 3 Clip 4. Who Are the Anti-Federalists John Armor discussed how the anti-federalists help create the Bill of Rights by opposing the ratification of the Constitution. Description This video clip explains who the Anti- Federalists were and what beliefs they held that challenged the creation of a strong central government. The First Amendment was born in this charged atmosphere from idealistic hope, but it was also tinged with politics and practicality.
Demand for the First Amendment began early. While the Constitution was being written and ratified, Anti-Federalists were already clamoring a Declaration of Rights of the people. Since the new government would be more powerful than its predecessor, they worried that the absence of a list of basic freedoms would grant the federal government tyrannical power The Address and Reasons of Dissent of the Minority of the Convention of Pennsylvania to their Constituents.
They observed that even a government of the people required a statement of rights to which the citizens could hold it responsible. In contrast, Federalists opposed any change to the Constitution. They pointed out that the government had not existed long enough to know its flaws Jackson, address to Congress, 8 June , and contended that enumerated rights were unnecessary for a democratic republic.
Hamilton noted that "bills of rights are in their origin, stipulations between kings and their subjects Since the people had not explicitly granted the government any power to limit speech or religion, he argued, Anti-Federalists should not presume that those freedoms would be taken away.
Hamilton and his supporters not only believed enumeration to be unnecessary, they feared that it could restrict the freedom of the people. By limiting certain powers of the state, a Bill of Rights could be interpreted to grant all others Hamilton, Federalist No.
Though Madison assured Congress that "the enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people" Amendment IX , many of his colleagues still felt that exclusion would be implied by mentioning a few rights and ignoring various others. However, there was little fundamental disagreement over the specific liberties outlined by the First Amendment. The freedoms of speech, press, and religion were widely considered among the "choicest privileges of the people" Madison, address to Congress, 8 June Federalists conceded that if it was necessary to assure dissidents that they would not be silenced, these principles were hardly controversial.
Instead, debate over the First Amendment centered on the extent of these values: if citizens deserved freedom of religion, did they have the freedom to profess no religion? If citizens had a right to speech and petition, should they expect their representatives to honor those demands? First among the clauses in sequence and controversy, the prohibition against religious establishment was formed upon both ideas of tolerance and a sectional preference for local churches.
Early Americans respected religious tolerance for its ability to keep the peace. Britain's history had been fraught with religious conflict between Catholics and Protestants, and among sects of each.
William and Mary advanced tolerance as a solution when allowed a measure of liberty within the established church, declaring that no Protestant who swore an oath of allegiance would "be prosecuted in any ecclesiastical court, for. This idea of limited freedom of religion carried over to the New World, where both the New York Chapter of Liberties and the Maryland Act of Toleration ensured in their respective colonies that "noe person The colonists had learned from European history that religious battles often breed tyrannical acts on the part of the government.
Sensing that Anti-Federalist sentiment would sink ratification efforts, James Madison reluctantly agreed to draft a list of rights that the new federal government could not encroach. The Bill of Rights is a list of 10 constitutional amendments that secure the basic rights and privileges of American citizens. They include the right to free speech, the right to a speedy trial, the right to due process under the law, and protections against cruel and unusual punishments.
To accommodate Anti-Federalist concerns of excessive federal power, the Bill of Rights also reserves any power that is not given to the federal government to the states and to the people. Since its adoption, the Bill of Rights has become the most important part of the Constitution for most Americans. In Supreme Court cases, the Amendments are debated more frequently than the Articles. They have been cited to protect the free speech of Civil Rights activists, protect Americans from unlawful government surveillance, and grant citizens Miranda rights during arrest.
It is impossible to know what our republic would look like today without the persistence of the Anti-Federalists over two hundred years ago.
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