Anti-Federalist Papers

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The Anti-Federalist Papers are a collection of essays written in the late 1780s that argued against ratifying the U.S. Constitution and warned about the dangers of a strong central government.


Statements (51)
Predicate Object
instanceOf American political literature
collection of political writings
essays
advocatesFor decentralized government
protection of individual rights
strong state governments
circulatedAs newspaper essays
pamphlets
contrastsWith The Federalist Papers
countryOfOrigin United States
endTime 1788
genre pamphlet literature
political essay
political philosophy
hasImpactOn American constitutional interpretation
American political thought
hasPart Agrippa essays
Brutus essays
Cato essays
Centinel essays
Federal Farmer letters
Letters of a Federal Farmer
Old Whig essays
hasPseudonymousAuthor Agrippa
Brutus
Cato
Centinel
Federal Farmer
historicalContext debates over ratification of the United States Constitution
influenced adoption of the United States Bill of Rights
language English
mainSubject United States Constitution
federalism in the United States
individual liberties
ratification of the United States Constitution
republicanism
separation of powers
states’ rights
opposedTo ratification of the United States Constitution
strong centralized federal government
placeOfOrigin Thirteen Colonies
politicalPosition Anti-Federalist
publicationPeriod late 1780s
startTime 1787
timePeriod American Founding Era
warnsAbout absence of a bill of rights in the original Constitution
dangers of consolidated power
insufficient representation in a large republic
potential tyranny of a strong central government
writtenBy authors using pseudonyms such as Brutus, Cato, Centinel, Federal Farmer
various anonymous authors

Referenced by (7)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Anti-Federalist Papers ("Cato essays")
Anti-Federalist Papers ("Federal Farmer letters")
Anti-Federalist Papers ("Letters of a Federal Farmer")
hasPart
Federal Farmer ("Letters from the Federal Farmer")
mainWork
Mercy Otis Warren ("Observations on the New Constitution, and on the Federal and State Conventions")
notableWork
Anti-Federalists
produced
Publius
relatedTo

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