DBQ Federalist vs Antifederalist essays

DBQ Federalist vs Antifederalist essays It can be argued that the Federalists were the first political party in the United States. Their goal was simple; to unite the states and form a strong central government. There were various attempts at uniting the states, the first of which was the Articles of Confederation. These articles were not effective due to the fact that they did not have the power to tax the States or the power to enforce a uniform commercial policy. This caused the government to basically go bankrupt, and when this occurred, it was evident that the Federalists had failed in their plan of union. Their next attempt, the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, was successful in uniting the States, but still lacked the necessary acceptance of the people. Due to the failure of the Articles, the people did not trust the Federalists who created them, and in effect, would not allow those same men to gain supreme power of the country by creating a strong central government. The Federalists were not successful in handling the problems that faced this newly created nation because they lacked the power of a strong central government. The people of the United States were not satisfied with the way that the government was handling matters which pertained directly to them; which was without their consent. This is shown in the case of the Whiskey Rebellion (Document D). The Whiskey Tax was implemented due to the fact that the federal government needed to raise money to pay off state debts. Hamiltons plan was to tax Jeffersons supporters; this way he would not lose any of his own supporters, and at the same time he would be raising the necessary funds with which he would pay off the states debts. The fact that the farmers took violent action against government officers, such as tax collectors and federal marshals, shows that this government was not as strong as it thought it was, in that the people still thought that violence was an acc ...