Bill of Rights issue, the government did not need regulations that stated what it couldnt do because a government cannot act unless it is stated within the law. If there was not a law that stated that they could censor the press then it is illegal for them to do so. Mason and many other anti-federalists were opposed to the Constitution because it allowed the importation of slaves for at least another twenty years. Without this clause in the Constitution it never would have been ratified because the South would not have voted for ratification denying the Constitution the three-fourths vote that it needed. Although the importation of slaves in the Constitution was not ideal there was not a way to ratify the Constitution without the Souths vote on this issue. Charles A. Beard criticizes the creators of the Constitution deeming that: "I believe in the infallibility, all-sufficient wisdom, and infinite goodness of the late convention; or in other words, I believe that some men are of so perfect a nature that it is absolutely impossible for them to commit errors or design villainy. I believe that the great body of the people are incapable of judging in their nearest concerns, and that, therefore, they ought to be guided by the opinions of their superiors . . . I believe that aristocracy is the best form of government . . . I believe that trial by jury and the freedom of the press ought to be exploded from every wise of government . . . I believe that the new constitution will prove the bulwark of liberty --- the balm of misery --- the essence of justice --- and the astonishment of mankind(Anti-Federalist). Another anti-federalist, Patrick Henry gave a speech at the Virginia Convention, which is telling the founders that their new Constitution will have the same rule of the land that does not differ from the former rule of England. Below is a small section of the speech from Patrick Henry: THIS, sir, is the language of democracy--that a major...
