Why Were The Founding Fathers Suspicious Of Strong Central Government?

Answer 1

Who wouldn't be? :) When the founders wrote the constitution, much of it was a direct reflection of abuses by the British, which showed them how damaging a strong central government could be to personal liberty. They had a different (and might I say Superior) plan on how to set up enough of a government to maintain a nation. WIth many reasons why the Founding Fathers were suspicious of a strong centralized government, the most concern was the depletion of individual freedom. Powers wouldn't be separated in a strong central government. An elite group would be formed and they would possibly use their government positions for selfish reasons. Not all were. Alexander Hamilton is probably the best-known among the Founding Fathers for wanting to establish a powerful, centralized federal government. Having not been born in the U.S., he failed to understand the allegiances people held to their home states -- his allegiance was with the union as a whole. But most of the Founders were wary of a powerful government, for the very reason that they had just fought off a powerful government in Britain and were determined not to have the same thing happen here, as they set out to establish a new, representative government of their own.