Anti-Federalists

E14608

historical group political faction political movement

The Anti-Federalists were a diverse group of late-18th-century American politicians and thinkers who opposed ratification of the U.S. Constitution, fearing centralized power and strongly advocating for states’ rights and a bill of rights.

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All labels observed (5)

Label	Occurrences
Anti-Federalist	31
Anti-Federalism	8
Anti-Federalist movement	6
Anti-Federalists canonical	5
American Anti-Federalism	1

Statements (59)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	historical group ⓘ political faction ⓘ political movement ⓘ
activeInPeriod	late 18th century ⓘ
arguedThat	a standing army in peacetime was dangerous to liberty ⓘ large republics are prone to faction and instability ⓘ republican government works best in small territories ⓘ the federal judiciary could overshadow state courts ⓘ the necessary and proper clause could expand federal power excessively ⓘ the presidency could evolve into a monarchy-like office ⓘ the proposed Constitution lacked explicit protections for individual rights ⓘ the supremacy clause threatened state sovereignty ⓘ
concernedWith	danger of consolidated power ⓘ potential tyranny of a strong central government ⓘ protection of individual liberties ⓘ
country	United States of America ⓘ
geographicStronghold	Massachusetts ⓘ New York ⓘ North Carolina ⓘ Rhode Island ⓘ Virginia ⓘ
hadAlias	Brutus (pseudonymous Anti-Federalist writer) ⓘ Cato (pseudonymous Anti-Federalist writer) ⓘ Federal Farmer (pseudonymous Anti-Federalist writer) ⓘ
hadKeyIssue	control over the militia ⓘ demand for a bill of rights as a condition for ratification ⓘ fear of distant, unaccountable government ⓘ length and nature of Senate terms ⓘ representation ratio in the House of Representatives ⓘ scope of federal taxing power ⓘ
influenced	adoption of the United States Bill of Rights ⓘ
legacy	contributed to the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution ⓘ influenced later states' rights arguments in U.S. politics ⓘ shaped American skepticism of centralized authority ⓘ
notableMember	Elbridge Gerry ⓘ George Clinton ⓘ George Mason ⓘ James Monroe ⓘ Luther Martin ⓘ Melancton Smith ⓘ Mercy Otis Warren ⓘ Patrick Henry ⓘ Richard Henry Lee ⓘ Robert Yates ⓘ Samuel Adams ⓘ William Grayson ⓘ
opposed	ratification of the United States Constitution ⓘ strong centralized federal government ⓘ
opposedBy	Federalists ⓘ
participatedIn	state ratifying conventions ⓘ
politicalPosition	anti-federalism ⓘ states' rights advocacy ⓘ
produced	Anti-Federalist Papers ⓘ
supported	a bill of rights ⓘ states' rights ⓘ
timeframe	circa 1787–1791 ⓘ
usedMedium	newspaper essays ⓘ pamphlets ⓘ public speeches ⓘ

Referenced by (51)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Taxing and Spending Clause → debatedBy → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

Federalists → opposedGroup → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

George Clinton → memberOfPoliticalParty → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist

Marinus Willett → politicalAlignment → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist

George Mason → politicalAlignment → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist

Luther Martin → politicalAlignment → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist

Elbridge Gerry → previousMemberOf → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist movement

Willie Jones → memberOfPoliticalParty → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist

Willie Jones → politicalAlignment → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist

Willie Jones → movement → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: American Anti-Federalism

Virginia Ratifying Convention → politicalAlignment → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist

Federal Farmer (pseudonymous Anti-Federalist writer) → movement → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

subject surface form: Federal Farmer

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalism

Mercy Otis Warren → politicalAlignment → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist

Brutus (pseudonymous Anti-Federalist writer) → politicalAlignment → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist

Anti-Federalist Papers → politicalPosition → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist

Cato (pseudonymous Anti-Federalist writer) → partOf → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist movement

Cato (pseudonymous Anti-Federalist writer) → movement → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalism

Cato (pseudonymous Anti-Federalist writer) → politicalAlignment → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist

Robert Yates → memberOf → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

Robert Yates → movement → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalism

William Grayson → politicalAlignment → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist

Melancton Smith → politicalAlignment → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist

Melancton Smith → movement → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalism

Pennsylvania Ratifying Convention → significantOppositionFrom → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

Maria Cresap → movement → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

subject surface form: Luther Martin

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalism

Cornelia Tappen → spousePoliticalAffiliation → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist

Thomas Chittenden → memberOfPoliticalParty → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist

Ratification of the United States Constitution → opposedBy → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

John Tyler Sr. → memberOfPoliticalParty → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist

John Lansing Jr. → politicalAlignment → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist

Robert R. Livingston, drafter of the Declaration of Independence → memberOfPoliticalParty → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

subject surface form: Robert R. Livingston

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist

Brutus → movement → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalism

Brutus I → politicalPosition → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist

Brutus V → hasPoliticalPosition → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist

Brutus IX → hasPerspective → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist

Brutus XV → politicalPosition → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist

Brutus II → relatedTo → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist movement

Brutus III → politicalAlignment → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist

Brutus IV → hasPerspective → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist

Brutus XX → hasPoliticalPosition → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist

Brutus XXI → politicalPosition → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist

Brutus VI → politicalAlignment → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist

Brutus VIII → hasPoliticalPosition → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist

Brutus VIII → relatedTo → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist movement

Brutus XII → movement → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalism

Brutus XIII → relatedTo → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist movement

Brutus XVIII → politicalPosition → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist

Cato → movement → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

subject surface form: Cato (Anti-Federalist writer)

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalism

Centinel → politicalAlignment → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist

Agrippa → politicalAlignment → Anti-Federalists ⓘ

this entity surface form: Anti-Federalist