The Anti-Federalists thought that the constitution would give the national government too much power at the expense of the state governments. They also thought that the necessary and proper clause was too general. Another argument that the Anti-Federalists made was that throughout history, the only places where republican governments worked had been in small communities and that free government requires the active participation of the people. One other reason is that the constitution does not include a bill of rights and they thought a bill of rights is necessary to protect people against the power of the national government.
