Question

Which of the following quotations would most likely not have come from a Federalist?

A. "The Constitution ought to be the standard of construction for the laws, and that wherever there is an evident opposition, the laws ought to give place to the Constitution."
B. "The liberties of people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them."
C. "Let Congress legislate. Let others execute. Let others judge."
D. "An elective despotism was not the government we fought for; but one in which the powers of government should be so divided and balanced among the several bodies of magistracy as that no one could transcend their legal limits without being effectually checked and restrained by the others."

Answer 1

The quotation least likely to be from a Federalist is B, as it expresses concerns over government transparency that align more with Anti-Federalist views than with Federalist confidence in the Constitution's structure to prevent tyranny.

Step-by-step explanation:

The quotation that would most likely not have come from a Federalist is B. "The liberties of people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them." Federalists, like Alexander Hamilton and John Adams, believed in a strong central government and did not initially advocate for a bill of rights that would explicitly secure individual liberties as they thought the structure of the Constitution itself was sufficient to protect freedoms. Quotation B reflects a sentiment more closely associated with the Anti-Federalists, who were concerned about the potential for government overreach and concealment of actions from the public.

Federalists were proponents of a system where there was a division of power between the national and state governments with internal checks and balances. Quotation D, stating the need for a balance of power to avoid government overreach, is in line with James Madison's views expressed in the Federalist Papers, particularly Federalist No. 51. Therefore, it is more representative of a Federalist viewpoint. Quotations A and C also reflect the Federalist perspectives on the Constitution's role in government and the separation of powers, respectively.