The Federalists were actually Nationalists. They created the consolidated government that oppresses us. They were not asked to do so. They were merely supposed to make a few small changes to the confederacy. They went way beyond that simple task, and created a national leviathan. Their attempts at "checks and balances" and delegation of power have been proven to be laughably impotent in the face of the national monster they created. Their contrived limits on national power are like the chains that were supposed to keep Frankenstein bound to the operating table.
The main point of this essay is simply to show that a) the "federalists" were in fact nationalists, b) national governments are more dangerous than confederations, c) we did not require a national, consolidated government.
Step outside the box, and imagine if we'd NEVER created the national government.
I have to agree. The Anti-Federalists predictions have proven correct, with a level of accurate prognostication that is truly scary. It took less than a century (the Constitution actually died during the Civil War—what has passed as “constitutional government” since then have just been the twitches of the tail of a dying snake). We’re just about done. Very shortly, we will enter into a level of government scrutiny and control of our actions that make “1984” and “Big Brother” look like a libertarian fantasy.
Good point, really.
After reading the Federalist papers, I had to admit that I was Anti-Federalist. I agreed with the arguments that we were creating the foundations for what is happening in Congress today.
I’ve just started my reading on my quest to determine why these men who professed such a love of liberty would come up with something so (IMO) vile.
I suspect I’ll find it was pretty much all about the war. A combination of lack of trust amongst the states, no clear determination of who was supposed to be paying for the war, and the demand by the French that the States show strong unity before any aid would be rendered.
I think it’s going to be very difficult for me to determine which side I would have been on at the time. Today I’m an AF, but 230 years ago I might have been a reluctant Federalist.
Sometimes I think laws need expiration dates. Then again, it’s scary to think that if the Constitution was to expire at just the right time we might end up with something much worse.
“Step outside the box, and imagine if we’d NEVER created the national government. “
We might look like Canada.
Step back and imagine if we actually had followed the Constitution, and held fast to the idea of a LIMITED national government.