What the AntiFederalists Were For, Herbert J. Storing
What the AntiFederalists Were For, Herbert J. Storing
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What the Anti-Federalists Were For
The Political Thought of the Opponents of the Constitution

Author: Herbert J. Storing

Narrator: Auto-narrated

Unabridged: 3 hr 53 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/09/2025


Synopsis

The Anti-Federalists, in Herbert J. Storing’s view, are somewhat paradoxically entitled to be counted among the Founding Fathers and to share in the honor and study devoted to the founding. “If the foundations of the American polity was laid by the Federalists,” he writes, “the Anti-Federalist reservations echo through American history; and it is in the dialogue, not merely in the Federalist victory, that the country’s principles are to be discovered.” It was largely through their efforts, he reminds us, that the Constitution was so quickly amended to include a bill of rights.
Storing here offers a brilliant introduction to the thought and principles of the Anti-Federalists as they were understood by themselves and by other men and women of their time. His comprehensive exposition restores to our understanding the Anti-Federalist share in the founding its effect on some of the enduring themes and tensions of American political life. The concern with big government and infringement of personal liberty one finds in the writings of these neglected Founders strikes a remarkably timely note.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Rebecca on May 11, 2009

I loved this book.  I find it endlessly fascinating how little our political dialogue has changed since our country’s founding.  The issues my change but the fundamental debates on how to move forward, deal with issues, and how power is allotted are still the same.  I studied the Anti-Federalists in......more

Goodreads review by I-kai on April 10, 2021

Unlikely to find time to read the anti-federalist documents so this introduction going through crucial details of the debate was great for my needs.......more

Goodreads review by Dave on August 01, 2022

Herbert J. Storing's essay "What the Anti Federalists were for" illuminates the thought of the Anti-Federalists in a manner which seeks to understand these men as they understood themselves. This book is not simply an important contribution to historical understanding, it also demonstrates a nuanced......more

Goodreads review by Steven on February 28, 2010

Really more of a long-ish essay than a book (~70 pages)--it was originally written as the opening to the multi-volume edition of the Anti-Federalist Papers. It is succinct and interesting review of Anti-Federalist thought. Worth a read for anyone interesting in the founding of the US/the proto-party......more

Goodreads review by Boone on September 14, 2024

Storing provides a quick and useful overview of Anti-Federalist thought (this essay was the introduction to his collection of Anti-Federal writings). He emphasizes that, in the initial stages of opposition to the Constitution, AFs argued that the convention’s shift from amending to replacing the Art......more