What did the Anti-Federalists insist on adding to the Constitution?
Asked by: Dr. Webster Gulgowski | Last update: February 17, 2026Score: 4.5/5 (70 votes)
The Anti-Federalists insisted on adding a Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution, demanding explicit protections for individual liberties against a potentially powerful central government, a guarantee they felt was missing and crucial for preventing tyranny and ensuring citizen freedoms. Their successful advocacy led to the first ten amendments, which limit federal power and safeguard fundamental rights like speech, religion, and assembly, ultimately securing ratification by addressing concerns about government overreach.
What did the Anti-Federalists insist on adding to the Constitution?
The Anti-Federalists opposed the ratification of the 1787 U.S. Constitution because they feared that the new national government would be too powerful and thus threaten individual liberties, given the absence of a bill of rights.
What did Anti-Federalists want added to the Constitution?
In their journey to protect the interests of rural areas and farmers, the Anti-Federalists believed: The Constitution, as written, would be oppressive. The Constitution needed a Bill of Rights.
What addition to the Constitution was demanded by Anti-Federalists?
A critical minority, referred to as Anti-Federalists, insisted upon the addition of a bill of rights that would protect the rights of individual citizens, and demanded a new look at some of the Constitution's specific provisions.
Why did Anti-Federalists want to add a bill of rights to the Constitution?
A bill of rights would serve as a fire bell for the people, enabling them to immediately know when their rights were threatened. Additionally, some Antifederalists argued that the protections of a bill of rights was especially important under the Constitution, which was an original compact with the people.
Constitutional Convention: Federalists v. Anti-Federalists
Why did Anti-Federalists object to the Constitution?
The Anti-Federalists feared that the new Constitution gave the national government too much power. And that this new government—led by a new group of distant, out-of-touch political elites—would: Seize all political power. Swallow up the states—the governments that were closest to the people themselves.
Why was the bill of rights added to the Constitution by Anti-Federalists?
The first ten amendments to the Constitution make up the Bill of Rights. James Madison wrote the amendments as a solution to limit government power and protect individual liberties through the Constitution.
What was a major demand of the Anti-Federalists?
Anti-Federalists advocated for a weaker central government, fearing that increased federal authority would undermine state sovereignty and individual liberties. They were particularly skeptical of the proposed U.S. Constitution, which aimed to create a more robust federal structure with distinct branches of government.
What did the federalists promise to add to the Constitution?
The Federalists countered that a strong government was necessary to lead the new nation and promised to add a bill of rights to the Constitution. The Federalist Papers, in particular, argued in favor of ratification and sought to convince people that the new government would not become tyrannical.
Why did the federalists oppose adding a bill of rights to the United States Constitution?
Dangerous and Unnecessary
The authors of The Federalist Papers, including James Madison, argued for ratification of the Constitution without a bill of rights. They thought no list of rights could be complete and that therefore it was best to make no list at all.
What does an Anti-Federalist want?
In general, the Anti-Federalists believed that the bulk of governing power should reside with the States, as that was the government that was closest to “the people.” The central government, they argued, should be small, not very active, and exist only for very limited purposes, largely collective military defense.
Why did Anti-Federalists insist that a bill of rights be included in the Constitution brainly?
The Anti-Federalists called for a Bill of Rights to protect individual liberties from potential government overreach. They believed specific protections were necessary to ensure citizens' rights were not violated by the new federal government.
What was added to the Constitution to appease Anti-Federalists?
Amendments were promised during state conventions to appease Anti-Federalists, and in the summer of 1789, Congress finally agreed upon ten that would become known as the Bill of Rights.
What did Anti-Federalists add to the Constitution?
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. In the end, the antifederalist concerns were heeded as several states ratified the Constitution on the condition that a bill of rights would be added.
What did Anti-Federalists think about taxes?
The Antifederalists' fundamental and most enduring objection against the Constitution was that it contained no limit on the central govern- ment's ability to raise taxes. The unlimited power of Congress to increase taxes was a constant theme in nearly all of the Antifederalist writings.
What do the Anti-Federalists win in their battle against the Constitution?
But while the Antifederalists lost the battle against Constitutional ratification, they won the war by getting the Bill of Rights into the Constitution as its first ten amendments.
Which promise encouraged Anti-Federalists to ratify the Constitution?
A Bill of Rights was added in 1791. In part to gain the support of the Anti-Federalists, the Federalists promised to add a bill of rights if the Anti-Federalists would vote for the Constitution.
What did the Constitution promise?
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of ...
What was added to the Constitution after its ratification as promised?
The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution after its ratification. Many leaders did not trust the central government to protect individual rights without a guarantee in the Constitution. To reassure the states, a Bill of Rights was promised by James Madison.
What was something the Anti-Federalists wanted?
Many Anti-Federalists preferred a weak central government because they equated a strong government with British tyranny. Others wanted to encourage democracy and feared a strong government that would be dominated by the wealthy. They felt that the states were giving up too much power to the new federal government.
What was the main concern of the Anti-Federalists Quizlet?
The Antifederalists opposed the Constitution as they feared the strengthening of the central government, wanted a smaller union, and were concerned about the proposed document as it didn't include a bill of rights.
What were the Anti-Federalists' objections to the Constitution?
Five of their most significant objections to the Constitution are summarized in the excerpts that follow: that replacement of the Articles of Confederation was unnecessary; that the new government would give rise to a privileged aristocracy; that a stronger central government would obliterate the states; that a large, ...
Why was the bill added to the Constitution?
The United States Bill of Rights comprises the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. It was proposed following the often bitter 1787–88 debate over the ratification of the Constitution and written to address the objections raised by Anti-Federalists.
What was the main reason that a Bill of Rights was not added to the Constitution?
James Madison and other supporters of the Constitution argued that a bill of rights wasn't necessary because - “the government can only exert the powers specified by the Constitution.” But they agreed to consider adding amendments when ratification was in danger in the key state of Massachusetts.
Why do Anti-Federalists want a Bill of Rights added to the Constitution?
Anti-Federalists, fearing a strong centralized government, refused to support a constitution lacking a bill of rights. Heeding Thomas Jefferson who argued, “A bill of rights is what people are entitled to against every government on earth…”, the Constitutional Framers adopted the bill on December 15, 1791.