What group of people were against the Bill of Rights?
Asked by: Vito Hammes | Last update: October 4, 2025Score: 4.1/5 (11 votes)
The Federalists were people who favored a strong federal or national government. The Federalists felt a Bill of Rights was unnecessary.
Which group was against the bill of rights?
Antifederalists argued that a bill of rights was necessary because, the supremacy clause in combination with the necessary and proper and general welfare clauses would allow implied powers that could endanger rights. Federalists rejected the proposition that a bill of rights was needed.
Who was against the bill of rights?
Federalists. Supporters of the Constitution, known as Federalists, opposed a bill of rights for much of the ratification period, in part because of the procedural uncertainties it would create.
Which group didn't want a bill of rights?
When the Constitution was sent to the state conventions for ratification, the Anti-Federalists who were opposed to it agreed on the need for a bill of rights to protect the liberties of the people. Several Federalists, or those who supported the new Constitution, disagreed.
Which group opposed the addition of the bill of rights?
Madison's hope for an amendment in the Bill of Rights that would limit the states was not adopted, undoubtedly because of opposition by Anti-Federalists who already feared the power of the new national government.
A 3-minute guide to the Bill of Rights - Belinda Stutzman
Which group opposed the Civil Rights Act?
Final answer: The Dixiecrats, who were conservative southern Democrats, opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. These acts were significant in promoting civil rights and voting rights for African Americans, but were met with resistance particularly from southern Democrats.
Did Anti-Federalists support the bill of rights?
The Constitution was ratified, but some reservations surfaced about its content. 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.
Who was against the civil rights bill?
Strong opposition to the bill also came from Senator Strom Thurmond, who was still a Democrat at the time: "This so-called Civil Rights Proposals [sic], which the President has sent to Capitol Hill for enactment into law, are unconstitutional, unnecessary, unwise and extend beyond the realm of reason.
Which group was against the New Constitution?
The Anti-Federalists were against the ratification of the Constitution for many reasons. The Anti-Federalists believed that the Constitution, as drafted, would lead to a loss of individual liberties, an erosion of state sovereignty, and the potential for the rise of tyranny.
Who was excluded in the bill of rights?
Women were second-class citizens, essentially the property of their husbands, unable even to vote until 1920, when the 19th Amendment was passed and ratified. Native Americans were entirely outside the constitutional system, defined as an alien people in their own land.
Which founding fathers were anti Bill of Rights?
The Federalists, including Madison, George Washington and Alexander Hamilton, feared that if some rights were listed, others not explicitly enumerated would be left vulnerable.
Who did the Bill of Rights not originally apply to?
“For the first century of its existence, the Bill of Rights did not appear in many Supreme Court cases, principally because the Court ruled that it only applied to the national government, and the state governments exercised the most power over citizens' lives,” said Linda Monk, author of “The Bill of Rights: A User's ...
Who debated the Bill of Rights?
The House of Representatives debated the Bill of Rights between June 8 and September 24, 1789, when the House voted on its final version of amendments. House debate was shaped by the extreme reluctance, if not the open hostility, of the members towards Madison's version of amendments.
Who were the people against the Bill of Rights?
Federalists opposed the inclusion of a bill of rights as unnecessary. The Constitution's first draft established a system of checks and balances that included a strong executive branch, a representative legislature, and a federal judiciary—specifying what the government could do but not what it could not do.
Which group argued for a Bill of Rights?
The Anti-Federalists were people who supported strong state governments and were against a strong federal, or national, government. The Anti-Federalists wanted the Constitution of 1787 defeated. The Anti-Federalists' main way to defeat the Constitution was to talk about the lack of a Bill of Rights.
Who were the famous Anti-Federalists?
- Virginia's George Mason, Patrick Henry, and Richard Henry Lee.
- Massachusetts's Samuel Adams, Elbridge Gerry, and Mercy Otis Warren.
- New York's powerful Governor George Clinton.
What group was against the US Constitution?
The Anti-Federalists fought hard against the Constitution because it created a powerful central government that reminded them of the one they had just overthrown, and it lacked a bill of rights. The ratification campaign was a nail-biter.
What two groups argued over the Constitution?
There were two sides to the Great Debate: the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. The Federalists wanted to ratify the Constitution, the Anti-Federalists did not. One of the major issues these two parties debated concerned the inclusion of the Bill of Rights.
Which group originally opposed the Constitution?
The Anti-Federalists opposed the new Constitution. The Anti-Federalist camp included its own list of Founding-era heavyweights—including Virginia's George Mason, Patrick Henry, and Richard Henry Lee; Massachusetts's Samuel Adams, Elbridge Gerry, and Mercy Otis Warren; and New York's powerful Governor George Clinton.
How many Democrats voted for the 14th Amendment?
Answer and Explanation: No Democrats in Congress voted for the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In the Reconstruction Era after the Civil War, the Democrats were primarily the part of the Southern states and strictly opposed equal rights and guaranteed citizenship for the newly freed slaves.
Who opposed the Civil Rights Bill of 1866?
According to Trumbull, the “abstract truths and principles” of the Thirteenth Amendment meant nothing “unless the persons who are to be affected . . . have some means of availing themselves of their benefits.” President Andrew Johnson vetoed the bill, antagonistic to the claims of equality of African Americans and ...
Who was the anti civil rights senator?
James Strom Thurmond Sr. (December 5, 1902 – June 26, 2003) was an American politician who represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1954 to 2003.
Who supported the bill of rights?
Although many Federalists initially opposed such a bill on the basis that it was unnecessary because the Constitution had not entrusted powers to violate such rights to the three branches, to ensure ratification of the document, key Federalists, including James Madison, agreed to support such a bill of rights once the ...
What are the arguments against the bill of rights?
It was dangerous because any listing of rights could potentially be interpreted as exhaustive. Rights omitted could be considered as not retained. Finally, Federalists believed that bills of rights in history had been nothing more than paper protections, useless when they were most needed.
Was John Adams a federalist?
Overview. John Adams, a Federalist, was the second president of the United States. He served from 1797-1801. John Adams's presidency was marked by conflicts between the two newly-formed political parties: the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans.