Did the Washington administration and the first Congress neutralize or exacerbate Anti-Federalist fears?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

For the most part, the Washington administration and the first Congress were able to neutralize the Anti-Federalists' fears. To pacify the Anti-Federalists, James Madison helped frame the first ten amendments to the Constitution (later known as the Bill of Rights), which included protections for both basic individual liberties and for the states. These amendments resolved the most important issue remaining from the struggle between Federalists and Anti-Federalists. To allay fears that the federal courts would "swallow all the State Constitutions," Congress created a three-tier system of district courts, circuit courts, and the Supreme Court. In this system, each state would have at least one district court.

For the executive branch, Congress created new cabinet positions to advise the president on various policy matters, such as foreign affairs, the economy, and the military. For these cabinet positions, Washington assembled a group of leaders who had distinguished themselves in American public life during the Revolutionary War. Washington's choices varied across the political spectrum, with Hamilton representing the extreme nationalist position and Jefferson being far more sympathetic to state power.

It turned out that the federal government was far less imposing than that feared by Anti-Federalists, who envisioned a large and expensive government with a vast bureaucracy. In fact, the scale of the new government was modest, and its bureaucracy was small, with about 350 officers.