Federal Farmer XIII - Federal Districts
In Federal Farmer XIII an Anti-Federalist closes out his series of Observations with a lengthy discussion of the dangers of a Federal City.
Federal Farmer XIII
January 25, 1788
Federal Farmer XIII is the last Paper by this anonymous Anti-Federalist.
After reviewing his criticisms of the Constitution, he adds a few more...most noticeably his discussion of the Federal City.
Militia
The Farmer begins this piece with a lengthy run-on sentence that blasts through all of the arguments he made against the Constitution in his previous Papers.
He then turns his attention to the military where he makes a strong argument for limiting the Federal Government’s control on the militia.
Additionally, he essentially calls for the people’s right to bear arms, a discussion which appears surprisingly infrequently in Anti-Federalist writings.
Federal Districts
The Farmer spends a significant chunk of Observation XIII criticizing the idea of a Federal District.
He acknowledges that the idea sprung from the Mutiny of 1783, but is afraid of how this decision will play out in practice.
The Farmer notes that the size of the proposed capital (10 miles by 10 miles) is 4 times larger than the city of London.
Additionally, when coupled with the Federal Government’s ability to cede forts and ports from the States, there will be a gigantic part of the Union that is entirely out of State jurisdiction.
The Farmer worries that these areas will only have Federal taxes, as opposed to everywhere else that has to pay both State AND Federal taxes. He asks if this could be used as a ploy to convince towns (and, especially, port cities) to cede from their States and become Federal lands.
This is a major concern for the Farmer, as the Constitution leaves the Federal Government in charge of any and all decisions on how these areas are run and how the people might be treated.
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