. My posit is the Founders chose a BIG FEDERAL Gov't Constitution
how can 1% the size of todays on a per capita inflation adjusted basis be termed big by anyone except dumbto3 ??
In fact, the fear of govt was so great that the original Constitution had no Bill of Rights out of fear that if govt was empowered to protect rights it would instead subvert that power and use it to take away rights.
MORON:
The Debate over Ratification
The debate polarized the new nation. Those who supported the Constitution became known as federalists and those who opposed its ratification were called antifederalists. The federalists supported a strong national government to preserve order. The antifederalists favored strong state governments and believed that the national government created by the Constitution was too strong.
George Mason was one of the leading figures in creating the Bill of Rights. After storming out of the Constitutional Convention because the Constitution didn't contain a declaration of human rights, he
worked to pass amendments that would protect citizens from an intrusive government.
In many ways the argument was the same old debate about the proper balance between order and liberty. Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay wrote compelling arguments in favor of ratification in a series of essays known as the
Federalist Papers. There were probably more antifederalists in America, but the federalists were better organized, controlled more newspapers, and were in greater positions of power. The two sides finally reached an acceptable compromise when they agreed to add some amendments to the Constitution that protected individual liberties and rights.
The Bill of Rights ushistory.org