Why did Alexander Hamilton oppose adding a Bill of Rights to the Constitution?

Question

He was afraid it would actually limit individuals' rights by not listing them all.
He was afraid it would actually limit individuals' rights by not listing them all.

He feared it would cause the defeat and eventual elimination of the U.S. Constitution.
He feared it would cause the defeat and eventual elimination of the U.S. Constitution.

He did not believe in individual rights and believed the federal government should have more power.
He did not believe in individual rights and believed the federal government should have more power.

He did not support the Confederacy and wanted the southern states to leave the Union.

Answer 1

Alexander Hamilton opposed adding a Bill of Rights to the Constitution primarily because he believed that it could limit individual rights. His argument was that by listing specific rights, it might imply that any rights not listed were not protected, potentially leading to a misunderstanding that those unlisted rights were not guaranteed. Hamilton expressed this concern in Federalist No. 84, where he argued that the Constitution itself was a Bill of Rights, as it limited the government's powers and defined what the government could do.

To summarize, the correct reason Hamilton opposed a Bill of Rights was that he was afraid it would actually limit individuals' rights by not listing them all.