American Government Research Project
Your goal for this research project is to understand the ideological framework and political positions of the Federalists and
Anti-Federalists during the early days of American government and to make an argument for whether either would
support the modern American government after centuries of constitutional changes and amendments. Your paper will
focus on each branch of government and the changes each has gone through since the writing of the Constitution.
Starter Resources:
Source 1: Federalists Introduction
o https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1184/federalists
Source 2: Anti-Federalists Introduction
o https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1175/anti-federalists
Source 3: Overview of Position on Property, Class, and Government
o https://csac.history.wisc.edu/document-collections/constitutional-debates/property-class/
Source 1: Federalists Introduction
o https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1184/federalists
Source 2: Anti-Federalists Introduction
o https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1175/anti-federalists
Source 3: Overview of Position on Property, Class, and Government
o https://csac.history.wisc.edu/document-collections/constitutional-debates/property-class/
Paper Requirements:
Your 2–3-page research project should address the following key topics:
1. Introduction—Provide an overview of both the Federalists’ and Anti-Federalists’ positions on the government.
Reference key thinkers and political writings of each position. Briefly state, for each branch of government,
whether the Federalists and Anti-Federalists of early America would support its current power and capabilities.
Later in your paper, you’ll go into more detail about why they would or wouldn’t.
2. The Executive Branch—How have the powers of the Executive Branch changed since the writing of the
Constitution? What was the stance of both the Federalists and Anti-Federalists at that time? Create an argument
for the position of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists regarding the modern-day Executive Branch. Your
argument should reference specific amendments, legal cases, or precedents to support it.
3. The Legislative and Judicial Branches—How have the powers of the Legislative and Judicial Branches
changed since the writing of the Constitution? What was the stance of both the Federalists and Anti-Federalists at
that time? Create an argument for the position of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists regarding the
modern-day Legislative and Judicial Branches. Your argument should reference specific amendments, legal
cases, or precedents to support it.
Citing Your Sources:
Whenever you use information from research, whether on the internet, or in books or documentaries, you must cite
(record) your sources. There are different formats that researchers use to document important things like where the
information came from, who wrote the original information, and the date of the information.
Your 2–3-page research project should address the following key topics:
1. Introduction—Provide an overview of both the Federalists’ and Anti-Federalists’ positions on the government.
Reference key thinkers and political writings of each position. Briefly state, for each branch of government,
whether the Federalists and Anti-Federalists of early America would support its current power and capabilities.
Later in your paper, you’ll go into more detail about why they would or wouldn’t.
2. The Executive Branch—How have the powers of the Executive Branch changed since the writing of the
Constitution? What was the stance of both the Federalists and Anti-Federalists at that time? Create an argument
for the position of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists regarding the modern-day Executive Branch. Your
argument should reference specific amendments, legal cases, or precedents to support it.
3. The Legislative and Judicial Branches—How have the powers of the Legislative and Judicial Branches
changed since the writing of the Constitution? What was the stance of both the Federalists and Anti-Federalists at
that time? Create an argument for the position of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists regarding the
modern-day Legislative and Judicial Branches. Your argument should reference specific amendments, legal
cases, or precedents to support it.
Citing Your Sources:
Whenever you use information from research, whether on the internet, or in books or documentaries, you must cite
(record) your sources. There are different formats that researchers use to document important things like where the
information came from, who wrote the original information, and the date of the information.