The Federalists supported the Constitution and wanted a stronger national government. The Antifederalists opposed the Constitution because they wanted more power to remain with states.
The Federalists were primarily represented New England and Mid-Atlantic States. In the case of Anti-Federalists, they were largely represented within the states of New York, Virginia, and Massachusetts.
The Federalists oppose including a bill of rights on the ground that it was unnecessary. The Anti-Federalists, who were afraid of a strong centralized government, refused to support the Constitution without one.
The Founding Fathers consisted of George Washington (Federalist), Alexander Hamilton (Federalist Paper Author - Federalist), John Adams (Federalist), James Madison (Federalist Paper Author - Federalist), John Jay (Federalist Paper Author - Federalist), Patrick Henry (Antifederalist), James Monroe (Antifederalist), Richard Henry Lee (Antifederalist), George Manson (Antifederalist), Sam Adams (Antifederalist).
The Federalists supported an effective central government. They supported the establishment of a national bank and favored an industrial, international trade, and commercial economy. The main and most persistent criticism of the Constitution made by the Anti-Federalists was that it did not place any restrictions on the power of the federal government to levy taxes. Nearly all of the works by Antifederalists have as a recurring topic Congress' unrestricted ability to raise taxes.
Federalists supported representational, as opposed to direct, democracy and supported lesser state governments, strong central government, indirect election of government officials, lengthier term restrictions for officeholders. The ratification of the Constitution was contested by antifederalists. Their main contention was that the Constitution gave the federal government too much power and stripped the states of too much authority.
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Eddie E.