Introduction
James Madison was one of the Federalists who advocated for the formation of the Federal government. He contributed to the U.S. constitution and is known to be one of the founders of the constitution. He gained a lot of respect and influence from his support of the Federal government (Amar, 2005, p.72).
Main body
The formation of the U.S. constitution was faced by challenges due to the existence of the federalists, who supported the constitution and the anti-federalists, who were against the constitution. According to the federalists, the constitution was good and they supported it because they were dedicated to providing an independent and a Republican government but not dictatorship as the anti-Federalists were claiming.
They claimed that those who were for the federal government would be treated with respect and recognition as that is what the constitution reflected. The constitution as viewed by the federalists safeguarded the rights of every citizen in the United States and therefore they did not see the reason why the anti-federalists were dissatisfied with it. They considered the constitution to be one that would make the public feel that their freedom will be permanent, so saw no need for alteration claiming that the continuation of the government was fundamental to the people who proposed its formation.
The anti-Federalists on the other hand opposed the constitution because they felt that several issues were not well tacked in the constitution and that it was not representing the rights and interest of the common citizen. According to the anti-Federalists the bill of rights, which was lacking from the constitution, was very important and therefore needed to be incorporated, the constitution supported direct taxation which to them was not right, there was loss of the state sovereignty and on the claim that the constitution in navigation legislation, discriminated against southern states. Most of the anti-Federalists also claimed that the aristocratic politicians used the constitution to protect their own class interests rather than protecting the public interest since the constitution represented their work.
They felt that the learned would make them poor, illiterate and use torture as punishment for federal crimes. They argued that a territory of thirteen states was too large for a representative government. They felt that the government was going to be conquered by the wealthy individuals, be unreliable, distant and domineering to the poor.
Ideally the position of the anti-Federalists could be more supportable. This is because they advocated for a small central government which would be more reliable, more representative and could give liberty to the common citizen as opposed to the Federalists position of the constitution which was adopted to recognize citizens and protect with no specific theme of protection (Collier, Christopher & James, 1986).
The federal leadership was the first to dominate the first part of the U.S history. They have since come up with an organization called the Federalist society. It determined the way in which power was shared among the state governments. It has been effective in the constitutional principles on which it has placed big challenges. The American Bar Association, courts and the law schools are yet to face challenges from the Federalist society.
The anti-Federalist leadership was also effective in that their opposition led to the inclusion of the bill of rights into the constitution. This was a good idea putting into consideration the freedom of U.S people, it was put in place to give people the assurance that their rights were well catered for.
Conclusion
The formation of the U.S constitution was faced with many challenges and opposition from the anti-Federalists but because it had several different ways through which it could be appreciated, it got its approval in the end (Bjorn, 2000, p.45).
Reference
Amar, A.R. (2005). Americans constitution. New York, Random House.
Bjorn, L. D. (2000). The Constitution making and the Founding of America. San Diego, Calif. Lucent Books.
Collier, Christopher, & James, L.C. (1986). Decision in Philadelphia: The Constitutional Convention of 1787. New York: Random House.