The Observations of Federal Farmer - A Summary
An overview of the Essays of Federal Farmer, one of the most important Anti-Federalist during the Constitution’s Ratification Debates.
Observations of the Federal Farmer
The Observations of Federal Farmer were a series of Anti-Federalist Papers published between October 8, 1787 and January 25, 1788.
While the overarching discussion is a fear of a consolidated nation government, the Farmer touches on many important points of contention during the Constitution’s Ratification Debates.
The following is a brief summary for each of the Farmer’s thirteen essays.
Federal Farmer No. 1
The Farmer gives a general overview of the important process of ratification. He warns that there is no reason to ratify the Constitution hastily before questioning the motives of some Delegates to the Constitutional Convention.
Federal Farmer No. 2
The Farmer presents a long list of why the Constitution is doomed to fail. The discussion includes distance of the Government from the people, federal courts being inaccessible to the accused, the lack of a Bill of Rights and the fear that the Government will need to use force to control a population unwilling to support its laws.
Federal Farmer No. 3
The Farmer demonstrates that the Constitution has significantly less Representatives than the separate State Governments, which he suggests would give citizens significantly less representation. Furthermore, he attacks the Senate on several fronts, most notably that equal representation was not instituted because it was the best government, but because the small States forced a compromise.
He continues by noting that taxation and military force could be entirely controlled (at the time) by “the president, eight senators, and seventeen representatives.”
Lastly, he reviews a series of problems in the Judicial System which would largely be corrected with the 4th and 5th Amendments.
Federal Farmer No. 4
The Federal Farmer uses this Paper to respond to James’ Wilson’s Statehouse Yard Speech by contending that the powers of the Constitution are not so clearly defined as Wilson would have you believe. He points out that it is not clear if taxes will be collected from the States or from individuals as well as the use of the word ‘exceptions’ when discussing jurisdiction of the courts.
Federal Farmer No. 5
The Farmer concludes his first set of Observations with a plea to the Ratification Conventions to only approve the Constitution on the condition that certain Amendments be made when the new Government takes its seat.
Federal Farmer No. 6
After a three month hiatus, the Federal Farmer returns to denounce those who support the Constitution as ‘pretend’ Federalists who really prefer a National Government as opposed to a Confederation of States.
Federal Farmer No. 7
The Federal Farmer argues that if the people don’t voluntarily comply with the Federal Government (which he believes will be the case) then the President will have to use force to ensure obedience.
Federal Farmer No. 8
The Federal Farmer demonstrates why the British Government is a bad model to base the Constitution off of. Specifically he points out that the British have nobility, which draws a clear line between who can sit in the House of Commons and the House of Lords. He worries that without nobility, the Representatives in Congress will come from the same elite class of society as the Members of the Senate.
Federal Farmer No. 9
The Farmer discusses the types of politicians and why drastically increasing the number of Congresspersons will dilute the power of each individual and reduce the risk of corruption.
Federal Farmer No. 10
The Farmer suggests that a truly federal system of government would give more power to the States. He counters the Federalist argument that the Constitution only permits the National Government to do a few specific things by noting that those few things include taxation and the military.
Federal Farmer No. 11
The Federal Farmer submits a belief that Senators will become comfortable in their lengthy term in office and slowly begin using their power to enrich themselves and their friends.
Federal Farmer No. 12
The Farmer turns his attention to the election process by recommending official districts and asking whether the States or Federal Government actually control voting regulations.
Federal Farmer No. 13
The Farmer closes out his Observations by attacking the idea of Federal Districts. In addition to the capital, any federal territory, fort or port is under the President’s authority without any limit to the powers that can be executed.
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