Miscellaneous Disagreements with the Constitution - Federalist #84
In Federalist #84, Alexander Hamilton reviews some of the Anti-Federalist complaints that were not acknowledged in other Papers.
Federalist #84
Alexander Hamilton
July 16, 1788
By July of 1788, the Constitution had already been ratified by 10 States. Since it only needed 9, the new Government was already in motion.
New York, however, was still a week away from its ratification convention.
In a final attempt to get New York to join the Union (which, by now, had it completely surrounded), Alexander Hamilton wrote Federalist #84 to tie up any loose ends and discuss a few issues that had been left out.
Bill of Rights
It is interesting that the lack of a Bill of Rights was not discussed in an earlier Paper, but Hamilton finally tackles the subject here.
After pointing out that many State constitutions (including New York’s) did not have a Bill of Rights, Hamilton reviews some of the language that is in the Constitution.
He notes the right to habeas corpus and the elimination of titles of nobility which, he claims, have done more damage to liberties than any other method in the history of English Law.
Hamilton goes on to argue that previous Bills of Rights were used to take rights for the people that were not originally granted by the Government.
Therefore, the citizens had to take these rights for themselves.
The Constitution, on the other hand, was to be ratified by the people and hence never took those rights from the citizens in the first place.
Distance
Hamilton moves on to discuss the Anti-Federalist argument that the Federal Government will be too far away from the State Governments and the people in general.
He demonstrates that State capitals themselves can be quite distant from the constituents.
Just as the people have several ways to stay informed with the State Government, so too will they be able to with the National Government.
Expense
Hamilton mentions two different Anti-Federalist points on finances.
First, he scolds people who have publicly claimed that the new Constitution means that the several States no longer need to pay their debts to the Federal Government since those were taken out under the Articles of Confederation.
Hamilton doesn’t believe these discussions merit any acknowledgement (though it is funny that just three years later he would be attempting to assume those same debts).
Finally, he responds to claims that the new Government will be too expensive.
Though Hamilton admits there would be increased spending in certain places, he believed there would be savings in others.
More importantly, from his perspective, the benefits of uniting as one nation far outweigh the added costs of a Federal Government.
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