Luther Martin was a prominent Anti-Federalist voice and the Attorney General of Maryland, known for his outspoken opposition to the U.S. Constitution during and after the Constitutional Convention.
Martin criticized the Constitution for granting excessive power to the federal government at the expense of state sovereignty. He objected to the lack of a Bill of Rights and warned that the proposed structure would enable tyranny. A staunch defender of individual liberties and state authority, Martin believed the new system threatened the balance necessary for a free republic.
Argues that inequality of representation favors powerful states, undermines federal equality, and threatens liberty by reducing smaller states to political dependence.
Details the bitter debate over state representation, exposing how small states resisted unequal suffrage, rejected coercive compromises, and warned that the proposed system would erode federal equality and empower large states at the expense of liberty.
Criticizes the proposed Constitution as a covert move toward national consolidation, arguing that it subverts true federalism, endangers state sovereignty, and imposes a centralized system too vast to preserve liberty.
Condemns slave-based representation and unequal apportionment favoring large states, warns of disproportionate power and influence, and criticizes provisions that expose Congress to executive bribery and corruption.
Warns that unchecked federal taxation, judicial overreach, and revenue powers—including stamp duties and excises—threaten state sovereignty, enable corruption, and concentrate dangerous authority in a distant national government.
Condemns unlimited federal military power, centralized control of the militia, and the temporary protection of the slave trade, warning these measures endanger liberty, undermine state sovereignty, and mock the founding principles of justice and freedom.
Condemns federal protection of the slave trade, habeas corpus suspension, and loss of state control over commerce and currency—warning these powers will oppress debtors, undermine liberty, and centralize economic authority.
Warns that the presidency, as structured, concentrates excessive power—military, electoral, and appointive—enabling lifelong rule, fostering corruption, and rendering impeachment ineffective as a check.
Warns that the proposed judiciary strips states and citizens of trial by jury, centralizes nearly all legal authority in distant federal courts, and brands any state resistance to federal overreach as treason—leaving the people powerless against national despotism.
