Republicus - An Anti-Federalist on the Frontier
Republicus was an Anti-Federalist who published resistance to the Constitution from the frontier.
Kentucky Gazette
On March 1, 1788, an anonymous author published an Anti-Federalist letter in the Kentucky Gazette.
This was the only Anti-Federalist Paper written on the American frontier, in a territory that was not yet a State in the Union. In fact, it was still technically part of Virginia.
It also demonstrated that the settlers on the frontier could deal with the weighty political issues of the day at the same level as those back east.
Republicus
Of all the Anti-Federalist Papers, Republicus is far and away the most democratic.
It is very much concerned with government by the people.
For example, the author writes at length regarding the election of the President. Republicus thought that the Electoral College separated the people from the President to such a degree that he would have no need to care about their needs.
Furthermore, the author thought that the Senators, who at the time were chosen by the State Governments and not elected, would only further insulate the President from the people at large.
The best solution was to have a direct election of the Commander-in-Chief.
Unicameral
Speaking of the Senate, Republicus believed it was unnecessary.
In fact, this letter seems to be the only Anti-Federalist argument calling for a unicameral legislature.
One body, elected by the people, was the only truly free representative government Republicus could envision for the United States.
If you made it this far you might also enjoy another of my Anti-Federalist articles:
Montezuma’s Sarcastic Approval of the Constitution
The Decent of the Pennsylvania Minority
We Have Been Told of Phantoms - William Grayson’s Constitutional Skepticism
Want to learn more about Anti-Federalist Papers?
The collection by Herbert J. Storing below is the one I am using for most of my Anti-Federalist research. It is a ‘best of’ collection from his teacher’s ‘Complete Anti-Federalist’ which itself is nine volumes and extremely hard to find.
Pick up a copy through the Amazon affiliate link below (you’ll support this site, but don’t worry, Amazon pays me while your price stays the same).
