red. After the Revolution there were local parties in the
various States, divided on one and another question, such as that of
hard and soft money, and these issues had coincided in different
States; but they were in no sense national parties with organizations,
platforms, and leaders; they were purely local, and the followers of one
or the other would have denied that they were anything else than Whigs.
But a new issue was now raised. The Whig party split in two, new
leaders appeared, and the elements gathered in two main divisions--the
Federalists advocating, and the Anti-Federalists opposing, the adoption
of the new Constitution.

There were differences of opinion over all the questions which had
led to the calling of the Federal Convention and the framing of the
Constitution and so there was inevitably a division upon the result of
the Convention's work. There were those who wanted national authority
for the suppression of disorder and of what threatened to be anarchy
throughout the Union; and on the other hand there were those who opposed
a strongly organized government through fear of its destroying liberty.
Especially debtors and creditors took opposite sides, and most of the
people in the United States could have been brought under one or
the other category. The former favored a system of government and
legislation which would tend to relieve or postpone the payment of
debts; and, as that relief would come more readily from the State
Governments, they were naturally the friends of State rights and State
authority and were opposed to any enlargement of the powers of the
Federal Government. On the other hand, were those who felt the necessity
of preserving inviolate every private and public obligation and who
saw that the separate power of the States could not accomplish what was
necessary to sustain both public and private credit; they were
disposed to use the resources of the Union and accordingly to favor the
strengthening of the national government. In nearly every State there
was a struggle between these classes.

In Philadelphia and the neighborhood there was great enthusiasm for the
new Constitution. Almost simultaneously with the action by Congress, and
before notification of it had been received, a motion was introduced
in the Pennsylvania Assembly to call a ratifying convention. The
Anti-Federalists were surprised by the suddenness of this proposal and
to prevent action absented themselves from the sess