Federalists vs. Antifederalists

  History 456, Winter 2004

Questions to Consider

As a Federalist or Antifederalist, how would you answer?

• •  What features are most important to guarantee republican government?
• •  How should representation be arranged? How direct or indirect should it be?
• •  Is an extended republic—one spread over a large geographical area—viable? Is the one proposed in the Constitution feasible, desirable, or dangerous? Why?
• •  What is the role of “national” government? What is—or should be—its relationship to the states? How “federal” is the system erected by the Constitution? What are the likely effects of the Constitution on the sovereignty, autonomy, and viability of the states?
• •  Do you favor “democracy” or democratical elements in government? Why or why not? How does the present system serve those goals? How would the Constitution promote or frustrate democracy?
• •  What is the chief threat to liberty? Does the Constitution ameliorate or aggravate that threat?
• •  What is the role of slavery in the new government? Does the new frame of government protect (legitimately or illegitimately) the regional interests or rights of American property-holders? Does it favor one region over another?
• •  Is a bill of rights essential to the new Constitution? Why should or should not one be included? If you favor a bill of rights, what should it include? If you do not, why is the explication of such rights unnecessary or dangerous?