Compare and Contrast Opposing Arguments
In this activity, you will read two opposing arguments: a Federalist paper by Alexander Hamilton and an anti-Federalist paper
by an anonymous author using the name Cató. Both authors are among the nation's founders, but Federalists believed in a
strong national government, which they described in detail in the U.S. Constitution. Anti-Federalists believed in strong state
governments, and many opposed ratification of the Constitution.
The two sides eventually compromised by adding the Bill of Rights to the Constitution: a set of amendments that spell out the
protections people and states have against the federal government's power. But before that, the two groups were locked in a
bitter disagreement called Great Debate, which these two texts are a part of.