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In his series of 18 letters, Federal Farmer repeatedly warned about the dangers of centralized power, predicting that the proposed government would end in “the destruction of freedom.” Path to Liberty: August 14, 2023
If you want to understand the Constitution - its original, legal meaning - don’t rely exclusively, or even primarily on the Federalist Papers. You’ll want to read other federalists like James Wilson, Tench Coxe and John Dickinson, plus the leading Anti-federalists as well.
Focusing on the debate over enumerated powers, this article challenges the unfounded assumptions of Federalist objectivity and Anti-Federalist irrelevance and models the historical method necessary to interpret the ratification debates rigorously.
Unlimited power. Robbery. Consolidation. Anti-federalists repeatedly warned that a federal power of direct taxation would destroy liberty.
It should be obvious by now that the executive branch wields far too much power. This kind of consolidation was considered one of the greatest threats to liberty. Some warned that the system wouldn’t self-enforce and predicted the “elective despotism” we live under today.