In the 1780s Robert Yates stood as a recognized leader of the
Antifederalists. He opposed any concessions to the federal congress,
such as the right to collect impost duties, that might diminish the
sovereignty of the states. When he travelled to Philadelphia in May
1787 for the federal convention, he expected that the delegates would
simply discuss revising the existing Articles. Yates was on the
committee that debated the question of representation in the
legislature, and it soon became apparent that the convention intended
much more than modification of the current plan of union. On July 5,
the day the committee presented its report, Yates and John Lansing (to
whom Yates was related by marriage) left the proceedings. In a joint
letter to Gov. George Clinton of New York, they spelled out the
reasons for their early departure. They warned against the dangers of
centralizing power and urged opposition to adopting the
Constitution. Yates continued to attack the Constitution in a series
of letters signed "Brutus" and "Sydney" and voted against ratification
at the Poughkeepsie convention.
[(Source: The Founding Fathers: New York [National Archives and Records Administration])]
These sixteen essays closely parallel "The Federalist", being published
during the same time period (October 1787 through April 1788) in the New York
Journal. They were widely reprinted and commented on throughout
the states.
