The US government is divided into three branches: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial, each having their own powers and responsiblities.
The Legislative Branch can be called The Law Maker, and consits of the U.S. Congress which is broken into the House and Senate. This branch originally held the power to write, deabte and pass laws on to the President for either approval or veto. Coining money, maintaining a military, declaring war on other countries and regulating interstate and foreign commerce are all priorities of Congress. They also have (but rarely use) the right to impeach the President and ammend the U.S. Consitiution, both of these fall under the checks and balances system. The powers of this branch have changed over the last two centuries in two major ways: Interpretation of Congress' role either outlined or not in the consitiution and the people's influence in pursuit for democracy. The Bill of Right's was the main outline for restriction of Federal government on people's rights and freedoms, which we as American's hold dear. The Interstate Commerce Clause of 1789, gave the power to regulate forgein commerce, Article I, Section 8: "The Congress shall have power . . . to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes." But, with this Congress took a more active role in this because the consitution basically didn't say they couldn't, take the passing of Environmental Laws for example, gave them more control over regulation of businesses. Big changes for social freedoms and rights include the civil rights acts and the change of the founding ideas of white men controlling the government.
The Judicial Branch of government's main role is to uphold the law, and is known as the Supreme Court, which was the only judicial court required under the constitution. Like the other branches, the Judicial branch has evolved to a changing social and political climate in the US. The Supreme Court is the highest form of court in the federal government and its purpose is "to hold trials in cases involving ambassadors, public ministers, consuls, and states." This can be seen with the interpretation of the US Consitiution as a living document, that should change with the times. It has been ratified 27 times, most having been influenced by Judicial Review of the Supreme court. The Judiciary Act of 1789 did not specifically give the Judicial Branch under the Supreme Court the power to determine whether laws passed by Congress were valid under the Constitution. The Supreme Court, however, announced this power in the 1803 case of Marbury v. Madison, which is a monumental case in US history and also in the shift in power of the Judicial Branch. Lastly, a big change to this branch is the size of the Supreme Court, which was originally 6 Supreme Court Justices, 6 being an even number leads to the possibly of a hung outcome or 3-3. It has since been highered to 10 and lowered to 5, but is now at 9, which elimiates the possiblity of a tie. It should be noted that the seats on the Supreme Court are lifelong positions and must be appointed by the President and approved by the simple majority of the Senate.
The Federalists and Anti-Federalists held mostly opposite views during the writing of the Constitution. Federalists' held the ideal of a strong centeralized government under said document, and the Anti-Fed's were strongly against that idea, wanting the State governments to have more power and influence over the Federal. The Federalists were in favor of the ratification of the Consitiution and Anti-Federalists were against it. The Anti-Fed's were on the fence of ratification because there was no Bill of Rights or guarantee of the people's freedoms being protected, which the Federalist said were both protected and assumed in the constitution unless otherwise stated. Therefore, the passing of the ratification was huge for both sides, they eventually came to a compromise, the Anti-Fed's would get their Bill of Rights and ensure the protection of the people, if they voted in favor of ratification which was a win for the Federalists.
The two parties were divided by their regions as well, rural frontiersmen and farmers were the majority of the Anti-Federalist party and the more "industrial" coastal men made up the Federalists, they were more interested in Commerce and Business. Anti-Fed's were worried they would lose their voice in government issues if the state's had less power. They also wanted the State's to handle all court cases even if it involved the Federal Laws. So, the passing of the Judicial Act of 1789 was a huge win for the Federalists and equally huge blow to their rivial party
https://www.encyclopedia.com/politics/legal-and-political-magazines/changes-legislative-branch
https://www.encyclopedia.com/politics/legal-and-political-magazines/changes-judicial-branch
