Question

Read the following excerpt from The Objections of the Hon. George Mason to the Proposed Federal Constitution: Addressed to the Citizens of Virginia, written in 1787.

There is no declaration of rights: and the laws of the general government being paramount to the laws and constitutions of the several states, the declarations of rights, in the separate states, are no security.

According to Anti-Federalist George Mason, why would state rights no longer be protected?

State governments would no longer exist under the Constitution.
Local law enforcement would be too busy enforcing national laws.
Governors could choose not to enforce laws under the Constitution.
National laws and the new Constitution would be stronger than state laws.

Answer 1

George Mason and other Anti-Federalists were concerned that federal laws would take precedence over state laws, potentially overriding the protections and liberties the states' constitutions provided, hence their advocacy for a Bill of Rights.

Step-by-step explanation:

According to Anti-Federalist George Mason, state rights would no longer be protected because national laws and the new Constitution would be stronger than state laws. Mason feared that the lack of a declaration of rights in the federal Constitution meant that the state declarations of rights had no security since federal law would be paramount. Furthermore, many Anti-Federalists shared the concern that individual liberties granted by state constitutions might be overridden by a powerful federal government without a Bill of Rights. This led to a demand for the addition of such protections directly into the Constitution to ensure federal laws would not infringe upon the rights previously secured by the states.