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Why were anti federalists like Thomas Jefferson against having a national/central bank?

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Final answer:

Thomas Jefferson and other anti-federalists opposed having a national/central bank because they believed it was not constitutionally authorized and would concentrate power in the hands of the wealthy. They argued for regional banks instead to better serve the financial needs of different states.

Step-by-step explanation:

Thomas Jefferson and other anti-federalists objected to the establishment of a national/central bank primarily because they believed in strict construction when interpreting the Constitution. They argued that the Constitution did not specifically grant the federal government the power to create a national bank.

Jefferson and his supporters also feared that a national bank would concentrate too much economic power in the hands of a few elites and would favor the wealthy over the middle and working classes. They saw a strong federal government and a national bank as threats to individual liberty and states' rights.

Furthermore, Jefferson and his fellow anti-federalists proposed the idea of chartering several regional banks instead of a single national bank. They believed that regional banks would better serve the financial needs of the different states and avoid centralizing financial power in one location, such as New York.

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