FEDERALISTS OR ANTI-FEDERALISTS
During the 1780's the country was divided between the supporters
of a new more highly centralized government, Federalists, and
the friends of the existing loose Confederation, Anti-Federalists.
Some of these state-rights men were opposed to change because
they did not wish to lose the authority and prestige they enjoyed
in the existing state governments. Such men preferred local and
individual liberties to centralization. On the other hand, the
supporters of a new central government valued national freedom
and efficiency more than individual or local liberties.
For each of the following, decide if the individual was a Federalist,
and Anti-Federalist, or undecided. After each biography list
the reasons for your selection.
1. Thomas Abraham Clark, the son of a prominent Philadelphia
lawyer, was born to extreme wealth. He was educated
at home by private tutors, and entered local politics at a
very early age. He soon rose to the top of his state in politics.
Having traveled extensively in Europe, he is obsessed with
the tyranny of European governments. He has corresponded
with Samuel Adams, Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, and Thomas
Jefferson. He is convinced that a strong government headed by
a king is and has been, the curse of mankind throughout history.
Under the Articles of Confederation, Thomas' law practice has
prospered, but he is concerned over the inflated value of some
colonial currency.
Federalist Anti-Federalist Undecided
Reasons for your choice:
2. Josiah Bartlett was born the son of a farmer.
He has little formal schooling, but has read extensively. At
twelve, Josiah left home to serve an apprenticeship as a cooper.
By the age of eighteen, Josiah set out to make his mark in his
state. Working as an overseer on small plantations, he soon saved
enough money to begin buying land of his own and by 1775 he
owned half the land in his state. Rather than operating large
scale and exclusively slave plantations, Josiah invested in smaller
farms operated by indentured servants. He ships a great deal
of cotton to Europe. His economic interests are threatened
not only be unstable currency, but by high tariffs and
taxes imposed by neighboring states.
Federalist Anti-Federalist Undecided
Reasons for your choice:
3. Edward Heyward is a member of the landed aristocracy of
Georgia. His substantial wealth came from the inheritance
of large tracts of land. Heyward, like most of the people in
his state, is extremely provincial in his outlook, having
had little contact with foreigners outside his state, other than
slave traders. His lack on contact with the outside world
and his relative wealth have convinced Edward that things have
gone splendidly after independence from Britain. His consumers
are the Indian tribes of western Georgia. They are well organized
and ably led. Since he has considerable money invested in western
land, he would like to see a united effort against the Indians.
Federalist Anti-Federalist Undecided
Reasons for your choice:
4. Patrick O'Neil was born in Hanover County, Virginia. He was
largely self-educated. From 1751 until 1760 he was an unsuccessful
storekeeper and farmer. Notoriously indifferent to his private
fortune and ineffectual in his own business, he has made the public
his main concern. He is a great orator and by some is called
the "voice of the common man." During the Revolution
he served in the House of Burgesses and as governor of Virginia.
He was a member of the radical faction which opposed the
king before the revolution, and on a number of occasions swore
he would give up his life before his freedom. He has always
thought of himself as a common man. He feels the rights of
the people must be protected from all privileged classes,
and he has always been a champion of popular rights.
Federalist Anti-Federalist Undecided
Reasons for your choice:
5. Tom McKean, like other lads of sixteen, ran away from home
in 1775 to serve in the Continental Army. He was with
Washington's troops at Valley Forge. A slight limp- he lost two
toes from frostbite - serves to remind him of that long, hard
winter. But his time in the hospital changed his life. An officer
in the next bed, in more peaceful times a professor of English,
taught Tom to read, as a means of whiling away the time. Tom
was an apt pupil. His first primer was the only book the professor
had with him: Thomas Paine's Common Sense. Tom continued
his own education when he was mustered out of the army. In the
last ten years he has traveled and spent time in every state,
making his living as a journalist. He is well aware of the problems
facing the American colonies. He sees the "Spanish-Indian
Conspiracy" as a great threat to American growth, and
the revolt of Daniel Shays as the beginning of the end
for stable government.
Federalist Anti-Federalist Undecided
Reasons for your choice:
6. Charles Francis Whipple was born to wealth in the colony
of Massachusetts. During the war years his family sent
him to England to be educated in the ministry. After his
return from his studies abroad, Charles decided that the economic
survival of his state depends upon the acquisition of more land,
and that political survival depends upon a strong central government
to protect Whipple and his class from the increasing restlessness
of the masses. Charles is forever preaching that man's
instincts can never be trusted, that only strong government
offers security. He feels that property rights must be
protected and that the "masses" must be kept in
their place. After seeing the results of Shays rebellion,
he feels the common people should have little or no voice in government.
Federalist Anti-Federalist Undecided
Reasons for your choice:
7. Clymer Fitzsimmons is a frontiersman from the north
west. He lives in a sparsely populated area. His father
and mother were killed by the Indians during Pontiac's
Rebellion. He has little formal education, but he has no equal
in the woods. He was wounded at the Battle of Saratoga, and still
carries an English "ball" in his right lung. He was
captured later in the war and spent two years as a British prisoner.
He is sure that the British government intends to suppress
the colonies newly won independence. He believes in a well
armed population and a large, well-organized militia.
Clymer has been little affected by the Articles of Confederation
and he is basically satisfied with the present economic
situation. He is suspicious of those colonial gentlemen of
wealth and English custom. He resents the present state
government because he is not allowed to vote, since he
owns no property.
Federalist Anti-Federalist Undecided
Reasons for your choice: