The Federalist Society Group

I was looking into the news, when I came across this article;

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federalist Society has close ties to the Bush administration and top legal leaders, including two Supreme Court justices.
The group, formally called the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, was founded in 1982 as a debating society by students who believed professors at the top law schools were too liberal.

www.cnn.com...

I decided then to research on our forefathers roots and debates about our constitution, and I learned that it was a heated debate when the constitution was adopted.

These people were actually split in two groups, the federalist and the antifederalist.

Now why after so many years the “Federalist Society” is now linked to the Bush administration and what this mean to our judicial system and our constitutional rights?

I am confused, so if any out there that have a good understanding on this subject I would love to learn what is all this about.

Is this another government society of the elite?

college.hmco.com...

Any comments will be appreciated.

the Federalists were long gone and the anti Federalists survived, which is now the Republicans. woohoo. before the name Republicans, they were called Democratic Republicans. led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

en.wikipedia.org...

The opponents (called "anti-federalists") generally were local rather than cosmopolitan in perspective, oriented to farming rather than commerce, and were happy enough with the status quo. Thomas Jefferson, who had been absent as minister to France, had doubts about the new proposal, especially about the absence of a Bill of Rights and the potential for an elected monarchy. The agreement to immediately add a Bill of Rights (the first ten amendments) assuaged temporarily the concerns of the antifederalists.

The Federalist party formed in the early 1790s to support the fiscal policies of Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. It was opposed by the Republicans, led by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson. The French Revolution forced Americans to side with the Federalists and Britain, or the Republicans and France. Virulent party newspapers kept the emotional intensity red hot. By 1798, the Federalists were arming the country to fight a war with France that never happened. Defeated by Jefferson in 1800, they withdrew to their New England strongholds until the War of 1812 aroused enough opposition to the Republicans to give them another chance. With the end of the war, the party collapsed nearly everywhere.

cant compare to the past Federalists to the Bush Administration since its lead by the Republicans. The Feferalist society is different and its mostly judges, lawyers and law students discussing issues and not acting as a political party.



[edit on 26-7-2005 by deltaboy]

There's a Wikipedia article on the Federalist Society here:

The Federalist Society began at the University of Chicago Law School and Yale Law School in 1982 as a student organization that challenged what it saw as the orthodox liberal ideology found in most law schools. In its Statement of Principles, the Society states that it is founded on the principles that the state exists to preserve freedom, that the separation of powers is central to the United States' constitutional form of government, and that the role of the judicial branch is to say what the law is, not what the law should be.
The Society currently has chapters at 145 United States law schools, including all of those ranked in the top 20. The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies also serves as a parent organization for conservatives, moderates, and libertarians who are interested in the current state of the legal order.

Full Article: Wikipedia

I understand that the Federalist and antifederalist dispute during the forming of the country.

But what has to do with our present political overview? Who are the antifederalist now?

Originally posted by marg6043
I understand that the Federalist and antifederalist dispute during the forming of the country.

But what has to do with our present political overview? Who are the antifederalist now?

Both the Democrats and the Republicans. but u cant say that if u are antifederalist u are against the central govt. its more like against aristocracy style govt for during that time, people fear of the return of tyranny thanks in response to the Shay's and Whiskey Rebelliion, crackdown by George Washington, who ironically asked for the militia to take them on. Alexander Hamilton and others still want to follow the British style govt. while the Demo Republicans wanted local control govt. there is the national govt, and the state govt so that pleases everybody in a way.

en.wikipedia.org...

As noted above, the Democratic Party is a direct descendant of the Democratic-Republican Party. The Republican Party also sees itself as a spiritual descendant of the Democratic-Republicans, though it has much looser ties from their broad base of former Whig voters and politicians. Neither the modern-day Democratic nor Republican party has identifiable ties to the Federalist Party, which was the most important rival of the original Democratic-Republican party.

Interesting Deltaboy and thanks for the information.

But what is all the fuss about the Federalist Society Group and the underminding of our civil rights?

As I keep on reading some of this members has been active in decisions that can hurt our civil rights with their ideologies.

They even have been linked to the "reconstructionist".

The federalists weren't precisely a political party. They were just a group of people who advocated for a strong central federal government. Anyone can be a federalist in a sense.

Technically, the Democrats are more like the federalists, and the Republicans are more like the anti-federalists. But its all rather debatable. The republicans want smaller government, reduced taxes, reduced social welfare programs, etc. The democrats want more social security, government provided medical services, etc. So that makes the democrats more like the federalists. Also, the radical right militias are the ones that are very much concernded about the excesses of the federal government, whereas the radical left seeks to expand the central government and socialise it.

But really, the term is an anachronism, its irrelevant outside of the consitutional debates of the late 1700s and early policy thinking of the 1800's. Hamilton was a Federalist, Bush really isn't. This 'Federalist Society' is a conservative think tank, but conservatives are rather anti-central government and pro-states rights. Its al very confusing infact. Recall that Lincoln and the republicans were, obviously, stronly on the side of the federal government in the american Civil War, whereas the southerners were mostly democrats who were extremely pro-state's rights. In more recent history the situation was practically reversed, and nowadays things are so completely different that nether group can be siad to be federalist or anti-federalist. That debate, in a sense, is long since over.

The only 'federalists' and anti-federalists that would exist today would be in the Iraqi national congress, debating what form of government to create.

Originally posted by marg6043
But what is all the fuss about the Federalist Society Group and the underminding of our civil rights?

As I keep on reading some of this members has been active in decisions that can hurt our civil rights with their ideologies.

They even have been linked to the "reconstructionist".

some are just trying to scare people into hopes blocking the nomination of Roberts for he is a conservative in a way, but people wanted to link him with the group which is mostly lawyers and judges. described as a conservative group that could overturn Roe vs Wade, thats wat some civil rights groups are on, which is the right to abortion, not about ani other rights, just the abortion issue.

www.fed-soc.org...

Well I will not go into the abortion issue due to my preferences of it.

But when we take the two main political parties and what is going on right now it seems kind of confusing that actually the Republican party, is actually in favor of bigger government.

It seems to me that something has change when it come with the Republican party of the past.

Since when things has changed so much?

It seems that now we are linking conservativism with spending.

It was a time when priorities where set and recognizable but it seems to be a new trend.

And for the bush candidate, well it seems that the Federalist Society has been linked to the republicans since its beginings in the Reagan years.

Nice to have some good information of this issues, I under estimated you Deltaboy you seems to know your history very well.

Thanks everybody for the info.

Marg, here is a link to a thread I started some months back about the Federalist Group.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

HTH

Thanks DontThreadOnMe, I guess I missed your post previously, you actually felt the same as I did when I came upon the link, I was intrigue and my inquisitive nature wanted to find out who and what they stand for.

Anything that has to do with our civil rights or any direct link to our constitution take my attention inmediatly.

You need to add the link to Nydgan nice thread on the topics.

I gather so far for what I has been reading that they may be more involve in the way things are to be run in capitol hill that we may think occurs in a way of influencing decisions.

They are activist after all, and their members are all over the government, I feel it could be a conspiracy after all.

Not on the meaning of "Federalist" but what the members are up to.

I think we should learn more on what they have been up to lately.

[edit on 27-7-2005 by marg6043]