Conflict between Federalist and Anti-Federalist: Manifestation in American Politics Today - Research Paper Example

The existence of federalism and anti-federalism is covertly found in American politics today and will continue to stay.In the realm of current politics, the debates that are taking place show some manifestation of federalism and anti-federalism. There are some people found who are not happy with the federal government. They demand the size of the federal government to become reasonable so that it could be maintained easily. These people are those who want things such as decrease in taxes and the like.

Whereas there are people who want a massive government, that is, they want more power for the federal government. These people can be found to demand increase in taxes and other like activities. Hence, the effect of the historical conflict between the federalists and anti- federalists in America is still present. A Little History: Who were the Federalist and Anti-Federalist? Originally, the United States of America was run and was held together by the Articles of Confederation. In 1787, Constitution Convention was formed and it was the first written Constitution for America replacing the Articles of Confederation and the beginning of the Constitutional System.

Before the Constitution came into effect, all the states were required to ratify the Constitution. Some states favored the new Constitution; however, debates occurred in other states regarding the new Constitution. Group of states who advocated the ratification of the new Constitution came to be known as the Federalist group. On the other hand, group who showed opposition were called the Anti-Federalist. Both the groups had their reasoning and viewpoints that gave rise to conflict. The Anti- Federalists argued the following reasons: 1.

They wanted to Bill of Rights. 2. The national government was given too much power comparatively to the state governments. 3. The executive branch also held too much power. 4. Congress also held power. 5. The army was to be maintained by the national government. Among all these reasons, the non- existence of the Bill of Rights was the main reason of conflict. It would take the rights of the American citizens again as they had previously fought for it. The Federalists had the following reason to advocate the ratification of the new constitution: 1.

Power was divided among three separate branches which were independent of each other. And thus, the rights of the people were protected. All the three branches were equal in power so they were unlikely to become dominant over each other. Furthermore, each branch of power dealt with different areas of issues of the people. However, some states ratified to the new Constitution after the reformation of the Bill of Rights. The bill was not considered a part of the new Constitution but played a vital role in protecting the rights of the people.

The federalists were mostly the business men whereas the anti-federalist group consists of farmers and workers. The most famous federalist was John Adams. George Mason, also known as the “Father of the Bill of Rights”, was among the anti-federalist group. (Encyclopedia Britannica). It was one common interest between the Federalist and Anti-Federalist that brought about a solution to the conflict. This common reason was that America be controlled by the people. Both had consensus in the opinion that people should have liberty and independence.

These two groups existed until the late1820’s; however, their remnants and effects are still seen today in American politics. The Manifestation of the Conflict in Current Politics In current American politics looking at the debates that arise, one may notice two groups having different viewpoints. There is a group of people who do not appreciate the federal government becoming too big in order to start controlling the people. They demand fewer taxes