Anti-Federalists, in American history, opponents of the adoption of the federal Constitution. Leading Anti-Federalists included George Mason Mason, James, 1909–84, British stage and film actor. Mason, trained at Cambridge as an architect, became a leading man in British films in the 1940s and thereafter an international star.
..... Click the link for more information. , Elbridge Gerry Gerry, Elbridge (gĕr`ē), 1744–1814, American statesman, Vice President of the United States, b. Marblehead, Mass.
..... Click the link for more information. , Patrick Henry Henry, Patrick, 1736–99, political leader in the American Revolution, b. Hanover co., Va. Largely self-educated, he became a prominent trial lawyer. Henry bitterly denounced (1765) the Stamp Act and in the years that followed helped fan the fires of revolt in
..... Click the link for more information. , and George Clinton Clinton, George, 1739–1812, American statesman, vice president of the United States (1805–1812), b. Little Britain, N.Y. Before he was 20 he served on a privateer and, in the French and Indian War, accompanied the regiment of his father, Charles Clinton,
..... Click the link for more information. . Later, many of the Anti-Federalists opposed the policies of the Federalist party Federalist party, in U.S. history, the political faction that favored a strong federal government.

Origins and Members

In the later years of the Articles of Confederation there was much agitation for a stronger federal union, which was crowned with
..... Click the link for more information. and of Alexander Hamilton Hamilton, Alexander, 1755–1804, American statesman, b. Nevis, in the West Indies.

Early Career

He was the illegitimate son of James Hamilton (of a prominent Scottish family) and Rachel Faucett Lavien (daughter of a doctor-planter on Nevis and
..... Click the link for more information. .

Bibliography

See M. Borden, ed., The Antifederalist Papers (1965); C. M. Kenyon, ed., The Antifederalists (1966).

Anti-Federalists

U.S. leaders who opposed the strong central government envisioned in the Constitution of the United States of 1787. Their agitation led to the creation of the Bill of Rights. While admitting the need for changes in the Articles of Confederation, they feared that a strong federal government would infringe on states' rights. The group's adherents, including George Mason, Patrick Henry, Thomas Paine, Samuel Adams, and George Clinton, were as numerous as the members of the Federalist Party, but their influence was weak in urban areas, and only Rhode Island and North Carolina voted against ratification of the Constitution. Anti-Federalists were powerful during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson, when they formed the nucleus of what later became the Democratic Party.