A person who opposes a federal system of government, especially one who opposed the U.S. Constitution's creation of a strong central government in 1787-1788.
From anti- (against) + federalist. Specifically refers to American colonists and politicians who resisted the Constitutional Convention's proposed strong national government.
The Antifederalists included James Monroe, Patrick Henry, and George Mason—powerful political figures who lost the Constitutional battle but won something bigger: their concerns about government overreach were so compelling that they forced the addition of the Bill of Rights, making them losers who ultimately shaped American freedom.
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