Uncontrolled Despotism: Mercy Otis Warren on the Constitution
In her widely-read and influential anti-federalist essay, Mercy Otis Warren warned that the Constitution would abandon the principles of the American Revolution and facilitate consolidation of the states under a powerful national government. In other words, it would...
The Perils of Centralization: Anti-Federalist Federal Farmer No. 2-3
The Federal Farmer lays out a laundry list of reasons why the system under the constitution โwill have a strong tendency to aristocracy, or the government of the few.โ Predicting it would ultimately result in a consolidated government ruling by โfear and force.โ Path...
Beware of Tyrants: Anti-Federalist Federal Farmer No. 1
In the first of his 18 anti-federalist letters, the Federal Farmer warned against adopting a new system hastily out of fear, which has always โbeen the custom of tyrants and their dependents.โ Instead, he urged caution – and a deeper look at what might lead to...