The Other Founders

Anti-Federalism and the Dissenting Tradition in America, 1788-1828. A study of the Anti-Federalist legacy. Saul Cornell argues that, while the Anti-Federalists won the battle over ratification of the Constitution in 1788, their ideas continue to define the soul of US politics. He explores the range and influence of Anti-Federalist thought on the early Republic. 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. 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. 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. Reconsiders the role that Anti-Federalists played during the debate over ratification of the Constitution and traces their political legacy in the half-century that followed.

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