Federalist/Anti-Federalist Insights

After the signing of the U.S. Constitution in late 1787, the proposed Constitution was dispatched to the thirteen colonies for ratification. Over the next several months, as many people are aware, 85 articles, known as the Federalist Papers, appeared in assorted newspapers encouraging ratification. However, very few realize that, at the same time, 85 articles were published in an effort to discourage ratification. Known as the Anti-Federalist Papers, these articles challenged the wisdom of ratification of the Constitution as it was written. On this page, beginning July 16, 2026, you will find a series of articles comparing the two. Each  week  a  new article  will  appear.

One week we will consider the text from one of the Federalist Papers (along with valuable commentary) and the following week we will review a perspective from the Anti-Federalist Papers (with more valuable commentary). You, the reader, can then feel free to weigh their arguments for yourself.