The Anti-Federalist Papers

During the period from the drafting and proposal of the federal Constitution in September, 1787, to its ratification in 1789 there was an intense debate on ratification. The principal arguments in favor of it were stated in the series written by Madison, Hamilton, and Jay called the Federalist Papers, although they were not as widely read as numerous independent local speeches and articles.

The arguments against ratification appeared in various forms, by various authors, most of whom used a pseudonym. Collectively, these writings have become known as the Anti-Federalist Papers. We here present some of the best and most widely read of these. They contain warnings of dangers from tyranny that weaknesses in the proposed Constitution did not adequately provide against, and while some of those weaknesses were corrected by adoption of the Bill of Rights, others remained, and some of these dangers are nowcoming to pass.

The Anti Federalist Authors

A COLUMBIAN PATRIOT : Mercy Warren

A COUNTRYMAN : DeWitt Clinton

A CUSTOMER

A DEMOCRATIC FEDERALIST

A FARMER

A FARMER AND PLANTER

A FEDERALIST

A FEDERAL REPUBLICAN

A GEORGIAN

A NEWPORT MAN

A REPUBLICAN FEDERALIST : James Warren

AGRIPPA : James Winthrop

ALFRED

AN AMERICAN

AN OBSERVER

AN OFFICER OF THE LATE CONTINENTAL ARMY : William Findley

AN OLD WHIG

AMICUS

ARISTOCROTIS

BRUTUS : Robert Yates

BRUTUS JUNIOR

CANDIDUS : Benjamin Austin

CATO : George Clinton

CENTINEL : Samuel or George Bryan

CINCINNATUS

DELIBERATOR

HAMPDEN HELVIDIUS PRISCUS : James Warren

JOHN HUMBLE

LEONIDAS

MASSACHUSETTENSIS

MONTEZUMA

PHILADELPHIENSIS

PHILANTHROPOS

PLEBIAN : Melancthon Smith REPUBLICUS

SYDNEY : Robert Yates

THE FEDERAL FARMER : Richard Henry Lee

THE PLAIN DEALER : Spencer Roane

THE YEOMANRY OF MASSACHUSETTS

VOX POPULI

WILLIAM PENN

Consider Arms

Samuel Field

William Grayson

Patrick Henry

John Lansing

Gilbert Livingston

Luther Martin

George Mason

Malichi Maynard

Eleazer Oswald

John F. Mercer

Joseph Taylor

The Anti-Federalist Papers