Board 8 Elects - The Election of 1788 - Washington vs no one - PROJECT INTEREST

Board 8

The Anti-Federalists were instrumental in getting a Bill of Rights into the Constitution, which is obviously something that can't be downplayed in terms of importance. However, in my readings of this era of American history, the Anti's have largely come across as paranoid and delusional, particularly when it comes to the role the Federalists played in the government, and often resorted to completely unfounded rumormongering and personal attacks in order to try and consolidate more power in a government they claimed should barely even have power at all. (Benjamin Franklin Bache was the absolute worst. Like a Revolutionary-era Alex Jones.)

The biggest problem with Washington himself turned out to be the whole slavery "thing" - even setting aside his own personal slave owning, he had a golden opportunity to end fugitive slave laws and ended up enforcing them surprisingly vigorously... but it's 1788, and you literally have people like Thomas Jefferson on the side of the Anti-Federalists (even if he isn't officially one at this point), so that aspect of this election (and several elections to come) is kind of a wash. A strong judiciary and centralized government are key in this uncertain time of building the nascent republic!

So, yeah, Federalists.
~Kaelee on mobile~