Anti-Federalists refused to ratify the Constitution unless __________.
Responses
A states could form armiesstates could form armies
B a bill of rights was addeda bill of rights was added
C Washington was made PresidentWashington was made President
D an alliance was made with Englandan alliance was made with England
B a bill of rights was added
The correct answer is B: a bill of rights was added.
To arrive at this answer, we need to understand the context of the Anti-Federalists in relation to the ratification of the Constitution.
During the ratification process of the Constitution in the late 1780s, there were two main opposing groups: the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. The Federalists supported the ratification of the Constitution as it was written, while the Anti-Federalists had concerns and objections to various aspects of the proposed Constitution.
The Anti-Federalists were worried that the Constitution did not adequately protect individual rights and freedoms. They believed that without explicit guarantees, the newly-formed federal government could potentially become too powerful and violate the rights of citizens. As a result, they refused to ratify the Constitution unless a bill of rights was added.
The bill of rights, which includes the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, explicitly outlines and protects individual liberties, such as freedom of speech, religion, and assembly, as well as due process rights and protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.
Therefore, the Anti-Federalists insisted on the addition of a bill of rights in order to ensure the protection of individual rights and to address their concerns about the potential abuse of power by the federal government.