Herbert J. Storing (1928–1977)

This is the introductory essay to the author's own edited collection of anti-federalist writings. The most revelatory parts of the essay show that the anti-federalists' views of their nation's political challenges agreed with the views of the federalists on surprisingly many accounts. Their distrust in the efficacy of the separation of powers was the main differentiator. The federalist - anti-federalist debate is also interesting because it's one of the few real-world situations where the optimal size of a political unit became a topic of discussion. In the concluding chapter, the author writes that "the anti-federalists lost the debate over the constitution not merely because they were less clever arguers or less skillful politicians, but because they had the weaker argument".… (meer)