How did the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists view the Constitution differently?

Question

Responses

Federalists believed that a Bill of Rights was unnecessary, while Anti-Federalists believed that a Bill of Rights was needed to protect citizens.
Federalists believed that a Bill of Rights was unnecessary, while Anti-Federalists believed that a Bill of Rights was needed to protect citizens.

Federalists believed that the Constitution should be as weak as the Articles of Confederation, while Anti-Federalists believed the Constitution needed to give the national government more power.
Federalists believed that the Constitution should be as weak as the Articles of Confederation, while Anti-Federalists believed the Constitution needed to give the national government more power.

Federalists believed that state governments should maintain power over the national government, while Anti-Federalists believed that states should be weaker than the national government.
Federalists believed that state governments should maintain power over the national government, while Anti-Federalists believed that states should be weaker than the national government.

Federalists believed that the Constitution would set up another monarchy, while the Anti-Federalists believed that the Constitution had checks and balances to keep it from becoming too powerful.

Answer 1

The most accurate differentiation between the views of the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists regarding the Constitution is:

Federalists believed that a Bill of Rights was unnecessary, while Anti-Federalists believed that a Bill of Rights was needed to protect citizens.

Federalists argued that the Constitution itself was sufficient to protect individual liberties, while Anti-Federalists contended that explicit protections of rights were necessary to prevent governmental overreach and ensure individual freedoms.

The other statements are either incorrect or misrepresent the positions held by each group:

• Federalists did not want the Constitution to be as weak as the Articles of Confederation; they sought a stronger national government.
• Federalists generally supported a stronger national government, while Anti-Federalists favored stronger state governments.
• Neither group believed that the Constitution would set up another monarchy; instead, Federalists believed in the checks and balances designed in the Constitution to prevent any one branch from becoming too powerful.