Anti-Federalist Paper No. 9: A Consolidated Government is a Tyranny

Question #1

“We the Aristocratic party of the United States, lamenting the many inconveniences to which the late confederation subjected the well-born, the better kind of people, bringing them down to the level of the rabble-and holding in utter detestation that frontispiece to every bill of rights, “that all men are born equal” -beg leave (for the purpose of drawing a line between such as we think were ordained to govern, and such as were made to bear the weight of government without having any share in its administration) to submit to our Friends in the first class for their inspection, the following defense of our monarchical, aristocratical democracy... As a majority of all societies consist of men who (though totally incapable of thinking or acting in governmental matters) are more readily led than driven, we have thought meet to indulge them in something like a democracy in the new constitution,”

This introductory portion of the Anti-Federalist document created by Montezuma and appearing in the Independent Gazetteer on October 17, 1787 displayed righteous self-esteem of the Anti-Federalist movement that proclaimed their rights as superior to others due to their station in life.  It is there contention that not all men are born equally as the Bill of Rights proclaim, but they are above such comparison to those who are, what they consider, inferior.  This proclamation states their natural born validality to a higher station in life than the next man.  Since other lesser born individuals, who in truth are unable to be rational men and are inferior, a party were created for them in order to occupy there time and lend basis to feelings of contribution, these people will be known as the Democratic Party (Federalist).  Montezuma proclaimed in this sentence that the Democratic Party was unable to think for themselves or the nation at large without the leadership of the Republican Party (Anti-Federalist).

I chose this work because it summarizes the discrimination that Anti-Federalist had towards Federalist and the pompous attitude reflected.

Question #2

Federal Government Power

It was the argument of Montezuma under Anti-Federalist writings number ten that too much power given to the federal government will result in a majority shift in power in their favor.  He stated, “Now, can a question arise in the colonial courts, which the ingenuity or sophistry of an able lawyer may not bring within one or other of the above cases? Certainly not. Then our court will have original or appellate jurisdiction in all cases-and if so, how fallen are state judicatures-and must not every provincial law yield to our supreme flat? Our constitution answers yes. . . . And finally we shall entrench ourselves so as to laugh at the cabals of the commonalty.”  He believed along with other Anti-Federalist that power should be retained at the Legislative level (federal).  The tyranny involved is the direct opposition of other factions towards there ideology, and any other opposed thought is wrong and in need of correction.  It would seem as the Anti-Federalist thought of people outside of their particular class as cattle to be led, fattened and considered as fodder for the strong to utilize as they see fit.