Final answer:
Brutus and other Anti-Federalists feared a powerful federal government could overshadow state powers and individual rights. Alexis de Tocqueville added the concept of 'tyranny of the majority' as another threat where majority will could oppress minorities within a democracy.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to Brutus, the greatest threat to America’s representative democracy is the potential dominance of an overarching federal government that could overpower states' rights, leading to a lack of true representation for the people. This concern reflects the anxieties of the Anti-Federalists during the period of the Constitution's ratification, who feared that a powerful central government could replicate the tyranny they fought against during the American Revolution. As Alexis de Tocqueville later notes, a different but related threat to democracy arises with the “tyranny of the majority,” where the will of the majority could overpower individual and minority rights, leading to a form of oppression within the democracy itself.
In Democracy in America, Tocqueville highlights the delicate balance between preventing the aristocracy of those who govern and avoiding popular scorn for established authorities, as either extreme could result in a dysfunctional or broken democratic system. He stresses the important role of moderate and fair representatives in safeguarding against both problems by maintaining just governance that retains the people’s confidence.