Political positions of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists

Your goal for this research project is to understand the ideological framework and political positions of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists during the early days of American government and to make an argument for whether either would support the modern American government after centuries of constitutional changes and amendments. Your paper will focus on each branch of government and the changes each has gone through since the writing of the Constitution.

Starter Resources:
• Source 1: Federalists Introduction
o https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1184/federalists
• Source 2: Anti-Federalists Introduction
o https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1175/anti-federalists
• Source 3: Overview of Position on Property, Class, and Government o https://csac.history.wisc.edu/document-collections/constitutional-debates/property-class/

Paper Requirements:
Your 2–3-page research project should address the following key topics:

1. Introduction—Provide an overview of both the Federalists’ and Anti-Federalists’ positions on the government. Reference key thinkers and political writings of each position. Briefly state, for each branch of government, whether the Federalists and Anti-Federalists of early America would support its current power and capabilities. Later in your paper, you’ll go into more detail about why they would or wouldn’t.
2. The Executive Branch—How have the powers of the Executive Branch changed since the writing of the Constitution? What was the stance of both the Federalists and Anti-Federalists at that time? Create an argument for the position of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists regarding the modern-day Executive Branch. Your argument should reference specific amendments, legal cases, or precedents to support it.
3. The Legislative and Judicial Branches—How have the powers of the Legislative and Judicial Branches changed since the writing of the Constitution? What was the stance of both the Federalists and Anti-Federalists at that time? Create an argument for the position of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists regarding the modern-day Legislative and Judicial Branches. Your argument should reference specific amendments, legal cases, or precedents to support it.