PDF Common Sense and a Little Fire: Women and Working-Class Politics in the United States; 1900-1965 (Gender and American Culture) by Annelise Orleck in History

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Fear of centralized authority is deeply rooted in American history. The struggle over the U.S. Constitution in 1788 pitted the Federalists; supporters of a stronger central government; against the Anti-Federalists; the champions of a more localist vision of politics. But; argues Saul Cornell; while the Federalists may have won the battle over ratification; it is the ideas of the Anti-Federalists that continue to define the soul of American politics.While no Anti-Federalist party emerged after ratification; Anti-Federalism continued to help define the limits of legitimate dissent within the American constitutional tradition for decades. Anti-Federalist ideas also exerted an important influence on Jeffersonianism and Jacksonianism. Exploring the full range of Anti-Federalist thought; Cornell illustrates its continuing relevance in the politics of the early Republic.A new look at the Anti-Federalists is particularly timely given the recent revival of interest in this once neglected group; notes Cornell. Now widely reprinted; Anti-Federalist writings are increasingly quoted by legal scholars and cited in Supreme Court decisions--clear proof that their authors are now counted among the ranks of America's founders.