Having won the Revolutionary War and sovereign control of their homeland against the British, Americans now faced a new question of authority: who should govern at home? As a result of this massive usurpation of authority, two main views emerged about how the new American government should operate. While part of the nation believed that a strong central government would be most beneficial to preserving the Union, others viewed a confederation of sovereign state governments as an option more favorable to the freedoms for which Americans fought so hard during the Revolution. Supporters of a central government, federalists, believed that this form of government was necessary to ensure national stability, unity, and influence over foreign perception. In contrast, Anti-Federalists viewed this stronger form of government as potentially oppressive and eerily similar to the authoritative tendencies of the British government they had just fought to remove. However, thanks to the final ratification of the Constitution, new pro-states' rights laws, and elections at the turn of the century, it can be said that the Anti-Federalist vision of America prevailed despite some concessions made in order to to preserve the Union. For Federalists in the early stages of the American republic, a strong central government was necessary to provide uniform oversight of the states, thereby helping to preserve the Union. This need for a more organized central government was the result of the ineffectiveness of the Article of Confederation government, lacking a unifying governmental body. One element of this philosophy was the creation of an executive branch and other federal branches... middle of document... Opposition to the Alien and Sedition Acts. In The William and Mary Quarterly 65, no. 3. Virginia: Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, 2008. Bradburn, Douglas. “State versus federal.” » In The Citizenship Revolution. Charlottesville, 2009. Brutus. “Anti-Federalist VI”. In The Anti-Federalist Journals. New York, 1788.Cato. “Anti-Federalist IV.” In The Anti-Federalist Journals. New York, 1788. Madison, James. “Bill of Rights”. In The Constitution of the United States. Washington, D.C., 1791. Madison, James. “Federalist No. 45.” In The Federalist Papers. Virginia, 1788.Taylor, Alan. “From fathers to friends of the people: the political figures of the first Republic. » In Le Journal de la Première République 11, no. 4. Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1991. Wood, Gordon. The radicalism of the American Revolution. New York: vintage books, 1992.