antifederal
Opposing strong government
Antifederal means opposed to federalism or to a strong central government.
The term appears most often in American historical contexts, describing those who opposed ratification of the U.S.
Constitution in the 1780s: The antifederal faction feared concentrated power.
More broadly, it describes opposition to federal authority in favor of state or local control.
Formal approval by authority
- ConstitutionGoverning principles document
- Bill of RightsInitial constitutional amendments guaranteeing freedoms
- foundingCreating an organization originally
- framersThose who construct frames
Philadelphia · convention · 1787 · amendments · delegates · compromise · Brutus · Patrick Henry
Provincial governmental autonomy
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
- autonomyIndependent decision-making capacity
- localismPreference for nearby things
- decentralizationDistributing power from center
self-government · nullification · subsidiarity · devolution · home rule · limited government · state legislatures · regional authority
Government by elected officials
- libertyAbsence of unjust constraint
- democracyRule by the people
- populismPolitics favoring ordinary citizens
- agrarianismDoctrine valuing farm life
small government · citizen militia · yeoman farmer · distrust · executive power · standing army · taxation · representation
ratification
Formal approval by authority
- ConstitutionGoverning principles document
- Bill of RightsInitial constitutional amendments guaranteeing freedoms
- foundingCreating an organization originally
framers · Philadelphia · convention · 1787 · amendments · delegates · compromise · Brutus · Patrick Henry · George Mason
states' rights
Provincial governmental autonomy
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
- autonomyIndependent decision-making capacity
- localismPreference for nearby things
decentralization · self-government · nullification · subsidiarity · devolution · home rule · limited government · state legislatures · regional authority
republicanism
Government by elected officials
- libertyAbsence of unjust constraint
- democracyRule by the people
- populismPolitics favoring ordinary citizens
agrarianism · small government · citizen militia · yeoman farmer · distrust · executive power · standing army · taxation · representation · individual rights
antifederalfederal
Divided governmental authority
federalist · nationalist · centralist · unionist · unitary