Issue 39.15
This term is a slippery one to define correctly because its meaning has been changed over time, particularly in the time after the Revolutionary War. I have asked a number of people what the term means and seldom get the same answer.
Originally it applied to anyone who believed in the concepts and organization created by the Articles of Confederation. These articles created a union of separate states who retained their sovereignty but agreed to work together for a common goal – the expulsion of British troops and control from the United States. After the war, Washington and many others felt that the government needed to be strengthened in order to defend against foreign aggression. They knew first-hand how difficult it was to raise the funds, recruit the troops and take care of the commitments they needed to make in order to repel the British.
This group renewed the term Federalists and applied it to their cause, meaning they wanted a stronger Federal Government of the Federations of United States. They were the chief supporters of the new Constitution of the US. Another group that was fearful of too much power being given to the central government opposed many of the concepts in the Constitution. They came to be called Anti-Federalists, though they insisted that they were the true federalists because they stood for the original concepts proposed when the nation was formed. They felt that the proposed President would evolve into a type of monarchy and that a stronger central government would lead to the loss of State and individual rights and a loss of individual freedom. While that didn’t happen at first, we can see that their fears were justified as we look at the recent abuses of power by some of our Presidents and Legislators. Of particular worry to the anti-federalists was what they felt was a too powerful judiciary. It seems they were right about that too.
In our day, the term Federalist has continued to mean those who stand for the concepts that Washington, Madison and others proposed in order to make the country stronger and more resilient. Without the Constitution, it is likely that the war of 1812 would have returned us to British rule so what they were concerned about was real and important. The reason the term has continued to be applied to those who support the original intention is the publication of “The Federalist Papers”, which is a collection of arguments, articles and letters by James Madison, John Jay and Alexander Hamilton. In opposition, the Anti-Federalist Papers is a collection of similar writing by opponents of strong central government by people like Patick Henry and others who used pseudonyms because of the charged political atmosphere they were working in. In these writings, Madison admits that his position went more toward central government power than was consistent with the original meaning of Federalism. On a scale of 1-10 highlighting the amount of power the central government has compared to the states and the individual, the Anti-Federalists would likely score a 2 or 3, the Federalists would likely score about 5 and the majority of our current judges and legislators as well as most recent Presidents would score in the 7 to 9 range.
You can see why this term is misunderstood and confusing to most people. By the standards of 1785, I would consider myself a Federalist, but one who understood and agreed with many of the concerns of the then-current Anti-Federalists. By today’s definitions, I would have to consider myself an Anti-Federalist because I think we have gone too far in letting the central government take power away from the individual and the state. Most Federalists of the Revolutionary period would be appalled that the government they created has moved so far towards centralized power and they would likely admit that the Anti-Federalists of their day were right to be concerned.
Reading both books cited here is something every citizen should do if they want to understand what is and what should have been.
Lynn West is a thinker, a teacher and a patriot. You can reach him through email at forgingthefuture2021@gmail.com or through this newspaper. Liberty is a state of being which must be continually created. These articles can help all of us discover the ways we can contribute to that outcome.