The Other Founders

Fear of centralized authority is deeply rooted in American history. The struggle over the U.S. Constitution in 1788 pitted the Federalists supporters of a stronger central government against the Anti-Federalists the champions of a more localist vision of politics. But argues Saul Cornell while the Federalists may have won the battle over ratification it is the ideas of the Anti-Federalists that continue to define the soul of American politics.<br/><br/>While no Anti-Federalist party emerged after ratification Anti-Federalism continued to help define the limits of legitimate dissent within the American constitutional tradition for decades. Anti-Federalist ideas also exerted an important influence on Jeffersonianism and Jacksonianism. Exploring the full range of Anti-Federalist thought Cornell illustrates its continuing relevance in the politics of the early Republic.<br/><br/>A new look at the Anti-Federalists is particularly timely given the recent revival of interest in this once neglected group notes Cornell. Now widely reprinted Anti-Federalist writings are increasingly quoted by legal scholars and cited in Supreme Court decisions — clear proof that their authors are now counted among the ranks of America’s founders.