This post will be an analysis of the Anti Federalist Paper, "New Constitution Creates a National Government; Will Not Abate Foreign Influence; Dangers of Civil War and Despotism." I will include a link to the paper, and website from which I have obtained the text. It is my purpose to help the reader understand portions of the text that I feel are relevant to the state of modern America. On this paper I will write shortly.
The author(anonymous) begins this letter by stating that the current(as of 1788) confederation of states was an ample, tried, and proved method of securing liberty for the peoples of America. The Federalists, he proclaims, seek to adopt this new constitution based upon false dangers that the current government could not protect from foreign influence, and the desire to make history, and act boastfully before the Europeans.
The nature of these misgivings is then explained. The reason a foreign government could not pose an existential threat to a confederation is due to the well distributed power, wealth, and military of the confederation. Take to mind the 13 colonies during the war for independence. One of their greatest assets was the decentralization of their power structure, and having no capitol city. This decentralization allowed the rebels to recover faster after taking military losses, and losing cities. Rather than having one, or two heavily fortified cities, and military outposts, they were able to spread out the power structure.
An analogy that I can think of is this: Imagine that someone was to attack you with a fine pointed weapon. They are able to strike your heart, and end the engagement quickly via rupturing your heart. Now, if they applied the same force, but had nothing to target, and used the same amount of force to hit you with a wide board across the chest, you would very likely still be alive to fight.
The author then reminds us, that a quiet history is a happy history, and that exciting history only makes accounts of wretched woes suffered by mankind. Our sincere author then adds this,
"Where the people are free there can be no great contrast or distinction among honest citizens in or out of office. In proportion as the people lose their freedom, every gradation of distinction, between the Governors and governed obtains, until the former become masters, and the latter become slaves."
Adding to this concept it is stated that when people refuse to govern themselves, and do it well, that in order to preserve such a state it must come to pass that a few will govern the masses, and must do so with force.
The last defense he gives for a confederated nation is that under such a form of government inter-state disputes will subside before blood is shed. Under a strong federal government, he argues, that disputes will be deep rooted, and one part of the state be offended at the general law of the whole body, and a war follow such a dispute to ensure uniformity in the state.
It is quite easy to see that our strong national government has already produced one great, and vile brother war. Yet, this was not enough for the federalists to see their folly.How much blood must they have? That old Federal seed has taken root, grown strong, and caused a great bloodletting first among its own children, and then in later years caused our republic to spill the blood of the whole world.
ALAS, this old republic has become a great hated wyrm, and rightfully so. The next great spill of blood will come back upon the heads of its people for our long generations of willing ignorance towards evil, and our refusal to stand for true freedom. If you live in America, it is a time to stand for true liberty. The fight against evil must be reinvigorated. The fires of the spirit of true American freedom must be rekindled in order to reach peace on this planet.
