Which group largely supported the Bill of Rights?

Asked by: Verla Brown V  |  Last update: October 23, 2025
Score: 4.5/5 (9 votes)

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 supported the Bill of Rights?

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.

Which group largely supported adding the Bill of Rights?

The Anti-Federalists's opposition to ratifying the Constitution was a powerful force in the origin of the Bill of Rights to protect Americans' civil liberties. The Anti-Federalists were chiefly concerned with too much power invested in the national government at the expense of states.

Who were the supporters of the Bill of Rights?

Anti-Federalists wanted power to remain with state and local governments and favored a bill of rights to safeguard individual liberty. Madison, then a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, altered the Constitution's text where he thought appropriate.

Who supported adding a Bill of Rights?

Representative James Madison of Virginia had originally thought a Bill of Rights was unnecessary, but by the time of the First Congress he realized that such amendments were a political necessity. On June 8, 1789, with the support of President Washington, Madison proposed several amendments on the House floor.

Why wasn’t the Bill of Rights originally in the US Constitution? - James Coll

34 related questions found

Who would have supported the 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.

Who supported the main ideas in the Bill of Rights?

Final answer:

The correct answer is John Locke, as his philosophical ideas about natural rights and government by consent significantly influenced the ideas enshrined in the Bill of Rights. Locke advocated for the protection of life, liberty, and property, aligning with the Bill of Rights' focus on individual freedoms.

Who were the strongest supporters of the Bill of Rights?

The Anti-Federalists, including Thomas Jefferson, were the strongest supporters of adding a bill of rights to the Constitution during the founding era. They believed it was necessary to protect individual rights from potential government abuses.

Who liked 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 helped put together the Bill of Rights?

Writing the Bill of Rights

The amendments James Madison proposed were designed to win support in both houses of Congress and the states. He focused on rights-related amendments, ignoring suggestions that would have structurally changed the government.

Which group strongly supported the addition of the Bill of Rights?

Explanation. The group that strongly supported the addition of the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution was the Anti-Federalists. After the Constitution was drafted in 1787, many Americans were concerned that it centralized too much power in the federal government and lacked protections for individual liberties.

Who pushed for the Bill of Rights?

The American Bill of Rights, inspired by Jefferson and drafted by James Madison, was adopted, and in 1791 the Constitution's first ten amendments became the law of the land.

Which group is responsible for protecting the Rights listed in the Bill of Rights?

The Bill of Rights protects individual liberties and rights: The Supreme Court is responsible for hearing cases and interpreting the application of the provisions in the Bill of Rights. Since 1897, the Supreme Court has heard cases on potential state infringement of individual liberties and rights.

Which of the following groups wanted a Bill of Rights quizlet?

Anti-Federalists were also concerned that the Constitution lacked a specific listing of rights. They believed that a bill of rights was essential to protect the people from the federal government. The Anti-Federalists did not want a powerful national government taking away those rights.

What did the Federalists believe about the Bill of Rights?

In contrast, the Federalists supported the Constitution and wanted a stronger federal government. Federalists believed that the Constitution already ensured individual rights to the citizens and the creation of a “Bill of Rights” was unnecessary.

Was Thomas Jefferson a federalist?

The Federalist Party controlled the national government until 1801, when it was overwhelmed by the Democratic-Republican opposition led by President Thomas Jefferson.

Who was the biggest supporter of the Bill of Rights?

Even James Madison, the Bill of Rights' greatest advocate, had first proposed them to appease members of the opposition; North Carolina and Rhode Island were not yet part of the Union, and he hoped that amendments would bring them into the fold.

Which group of people demanded the 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.

Did Thomas Jefferson support the Bill of Rights?

Thomas Jefferson was a strong supporter of supplementing the Constitution with a bill of rights. Jefferson thought they would give an independent judiciary the means to curb any “tyranny” of the executive or legislative branches.

Who was a strong supporter of states rights?

A staunch defender of the institution of slavery, and a slave-owner himself, Calhoun was the Senate's most prominent states' rights advocate, and his doctrine of nullification professed that individual states had a right to reject federal policies that they deemed unconstitutional.

Who supported the Constitution the most?

No one was better prepared to defend the Constitution than New Yorker Alexander Hamilton. In 1787-88 he worked with John Jay and James Madison to write series of 85 essays in support of the Constitution.

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.

Who supports the Bill of Rights?

A number of Federalists came out in support, thus silencing the Anti-Federalists' most effective critique. Many Anti-Federalists, in contrast, were now opposed, realizing that Congressional approval of these amendments would greatly lessen the chances of a second constitutional convention.

Which group favored a strong national government?

The Federalists, led by Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton, wanted a strong central government, while the Anti-Federalists, led by Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, advocated states' rights instead of centralized power.

Did Hamilton support the Bill of Rights?

Some Founding Fathers, most famously Alexander Hamilton, argued that it was not necessary to include a bill of rights in the Constitution. "the constitution is itself in every rational sense, and to every useful purpose, A BILL OF RIGHTS.