What were the differences between Anti-Federalists and Federalists?

The main differences between the Anti-Federalists and the Federalists really boiled down to one philosophical issue. Essentially, the Anti-Federalists feared that the powers granted to the federal government under the new Constitution were too extensive. Most believed that these powers could be most safely held by the states, and that granting them to the federal government represented a threat to basic liberties. They argued for changes that went along a broad spectrum. Some thought the...

The main differences between the Anti-Federalists and the Federalists really boiled down to one philosophical issue. Essentially, the Anti-Federalists feared that the powers granted to the federal government under the new Constitution were too extensive. Most believed that these powers could be most safely held by the states, and that granting them to the federal government represented a threat to basic liberties. They argued for changes that went along a broad spectrum. Some thought the best way to restrain these powers was by adding a Bill of Rights, and they refused to support ratification without a promise that a Bill of Rights would be added. Others argued for structural changes to the Constitution itself, such as eliminating Congress's power to set the time and place of federal elections. Still others (though a minority) argued for outright rejection of the document and for a new convention to amend the Articles of Confederation along more agreeable lines. The Anti-Federalists objected to the Constitution on many grounds, but fears of centralized power lay at the heart of most of their complaints.