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The debates between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists brought up ideas that can now be traced back to our Constitution. Their disputes and differences in ideology underlie and continue to shape our system of government today. Despite their very different routes, they both shared the common goal to develop freedom, equality, liberty, and justice for all. However, their different modes of thought are still not settled and continue to be argued about today. For example, what is the proper division of power between state governments and the federal government? This concept of federalism and its significance on our state of affairs continues to be a point of contention between liberals and conservatives. Federalist and Anti-Federalist disagreement over the differing ideals of political community and potential threats to liberty led to competing conceptions about many theories, two of the most prominent being liberty and representation. A prominent issue still dealt with today is whether the Constitution has created a system of government that preserves liberties. In 1779, when the Framers were working towards ratifying the constitution, liberty was still a big issue. While some believed that the Constitution was a wonderful way to protect individual liberties, others insisted that it threatened independence. The Anti-Federalists, or “enemies of the Constitution,” who believed that power should be vested in the states, unified themselves under the notion that true liberty is only possible in a small republic, ensuing that those who held power could be closely checked and all citizens could feel physically close to their rulers (Dilulio 167). This idea of the ruled feeling physically close to their rulers was of utmost importance to the Anti-Federalists, who felt that the biggest threat to their liberties was people unknowing who their representatives are. This is one reason the colonists rebelled against England; they had no liberty or representation. Furthermore, they felt that a strong national government would reduce the powers of the states and acquiesce public will.
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