Cato was the pseudonym of an anonymous Anti-Federalist writer active during the U.S. Constitution ratification debates. The authorship is often attributed to George Clinton, Governor of New York and Vice President during the second Jefferson administration and first Madison administration.
Cato’s essays criticized the Constitution for creating a strong centralized government that threatened state sovereignty and individual rights. He argued that such consolidation of power could lead to authoritarianism and warned against the lack of explicit protections for civil liberties. Cato advocated for a Bill of Rights to safeguard personal freedoms and ensure that the new government remained accountable to the people.
Argues that the Constitution centralizes power by entangling the Senate and executive, enabling collusion, weakening accountability, and granting Congress broad authority over elections that could suppress voter access and representation.
Condemns the Convention’s overreach and warns that the Constitution imposes centralized power without consent, threatening liberty and silencing public deliberation.
Rejects the idea of a large consolidated republic, arguing that its vast size, regional differences, and reliance on force would erode liberty, overwhelm public trust, and favor distant elites over local interests.
Argues that the presidency holds dangerously monarchic powers—commanding the military, influencing legislation, and surrounded by courtiers—making it a threat to liberty and unlike any true republican office.
Criticizes the Constitution for enabling Congress to manipulate elections and the Senate to evade accountability, arguing that such unchecked powers invite abuse, erode representation, and threaten civil liberty.
Condemns the unequal apportionment of representation and taxation, warns that unchecked federal taxation and aristocratic influence will crush the poor, and argues that secretive treaty powers endanger liberty and lack accountability.
Rejects the apportionment clause for counting slaves and non-voters, argues federal taxes will ruin farmers and laborers, warns of aristocratic control in the Senate, and condemns treaty powers exercised without the House as threats to liberty.
