Document 3 Brutus 1, October 18, 1787, author unknown, possibly Robert Yates

There is no one definitive Anti-Federalist counterpart to the writings of Hamilton, Madison, and Jay. Anti-Federalist writings were generally not as organized as the essays now known as The Federalist Papers, but their writing was vast and varied. Anti-Federalist writings do not typically match up with specific essays in The Federalist Papers but rather discuss arguments against the Constitution on a thematic level. Like The Federalist Papers, many of the Anti-Federalist writings were published serially in newspapers and under pseudonyms. The following Anti-Federalist essay appears in The New York Journal. Between October 18, 1787, and April 10, 1788, this newspaper published sixteen Anti-Federalist essays written under the pen name Brutus.

1. In what ways were the Anti-Federalist writings similar to The Federalist Papers?

2. How were they different?

3. In the first paragraph, why does the author warn the people about giving power to government?

4. What two adjectives does the author use in the second paragraph to describe the powers given to the government in the Constitution? What does this tell you about his point of view on the ratification of the Constitution?

5. What is the most important power a government can have, according to the last paragraph?

6. Why is this the most important power?

7. Who held this power in the Articles of Confederation?