The Anti-Federalists' main concern about the new national government was its potential to:

The main concern of the Anti-Federalists regarding the new national government centered around the fear that it could threaten individual liberties. They believed that a strong central government might abuse its power and infringe upon the rights of citizens. This concern was rooted in their experience under British rule, where centralized authority often limited personal freedoms and local governance. The Anti-Federalists advocated for a Bill of Rights to be added to the Constitution, which would explicitly protect individual freedoms and ensure that the government could not encroach upon them. Their opposition was not a rejection of governance altogether, but a cautious approach to prevent any form of tyranny that could arise from an overly powerful central government.