The Anti-Federalist Papers

During the period of debate over the ratification of the Constitution, numerous independent local speeches and articles were published all across the country. Initially, many of the articles in opposition were written under pseudonyms, such as "Brutus", "Centinel", and "Federal Farmer". Eventually, famous revolutionary figures such as Patrick Henry came out publicly against the Constitution. They argued that the strong national government proposed by the Federalists was a threat to the rights of individuals and that the President would become a king. They objected to the federal court system created by the proposed constitution. This produced a phenomenal body of political writing; the best and most influential of these articles and speeches were gathered by historians into a collection known as the Anti-Federalist Papers in allusion to the Federalist Papers.

By : Patrick Henry (1736 - 1799)

01 - Centinel I 02 - Centinel XI 03 - Federal Farmer I 04 - Federal Farmer II 05 - Federal Farmer III 06 - Federal Farmer IV 07 - Federal Farmer V 08 - Federal Farmer VI 09 - Federal Farmer VII 10 - Federal Farmer VIII 11 - Federal Farmer IX 12 - Federal Farmer X 13 - Federal Farmer XI 14 - Federal Farmer XII 15 - Federal Farmer XIII 16 - Federal Farmer XIV 17 - Federal Farmer XV 18 - Federal Farmer XVI 19 - Federal Farmer XVII 20 - Federal Farmer XVIII 21 - Brutus I 22 - Brutus II 23 - Brutus III 24 - Brutus IV 25 - Brutus V 26 - Brutus VI 27 - Brutus VII 28 - Brutus VIII 29 - Brutus IX 30 - Brutus X 31 - Brutus XI 32 - Brutus XII 33 - Brutus XIII 34 - Brutus XIV 35 - Brutus XV 36 - Brutus XVI 37 - John DeWitt I 38 - John DeWitt II 39 - John Dewitt III 40 - Cato III 41 - Cato IV 42 - Cato V 43 - Cato VII 44 - Agrippa VI 45 - Agrippa VII 46 - Agrippa VIII 47 - Agrippa IX 48 - Penn Minority 49 - Impartial Examiner I 50 - Impartial Examiner II 51 - Impartial Examiner III 52 - Maryland Farmer IV 53 - Maryland Farmer V 54 - Patrick Henry, 5 June 1788 55 - Patrick Henry, 7 June 1788 56 - Patrick Henry, 9 June 1788

The Anti-Federalist papers were written over a number of years and by a variety of authors who utilized pen names to remain anonymous, and debates over authorship continue to this day. Unlike the authors of The Federalist Papers, a group of three men working closely together, the authors of the anti-Federalist papers were not engaged in an organized project. Thus, in contrast to the pro-Constitution advocates, there was no one book or collection of anti-Federalist Papers at the time. The essays were the product of a vast number of authors, working individually rather than as a group. Although there is no canonical list of anti-federalist authors, major authors include Cato (likely George Clinton), Brutus (likely Melancton Smith or Robert Yates or perhaps John Williams), Centinel (Samuel Bryan), and the Federal Farmer (either Melancton Smith, Richard Henry Lee, or Mercy Otis Warren). Works by Patrick Henry and a variety of others are often included as well.

Until the mid-20th century, there was no united series of anti-Federalist papers. The first major collection was compiled by Morton Borden, a professor at Columbia University, in 1965. He "collected 85 of the most significant papers and arranged them in an order closely resembling that of the 85 Federalist Papers". The most frequently cited contemporary collection, The Complete Anti-Federalist, was compiled by Herbert Storing and Murray Dry of the University of Chicago. At seven volumes and including many pamphlets and other materials not previously published in a collection, this work is considered, by many, to be the authoritative compendium on the publications.

Considering their number and diversity, it is difficult to summarize the contents of the Anti-Federalist papers. Generally speaking they reflected the sentiments of the anti-Federalists, which Akhil Reed Amar of the Yale Law School generalized as: a localist fear of a powerful central government, a belief in the necessity of direct citizen participation in democracy, and a distrust of wealthy merchants and industrialists. Essays with titles such as "A Dangerous Plan of Benefit Only to The 'Aristocratick Combination'" and "New Constitution Creates a National Government; Will Not Abate Foreign Influence; Dangers of Civil War And Despotism" fill the collection, and reflect the strong feelings of the authors.