What was the main objection of the Anti-Federalists regarding the Constitution?

The main concern of the Anti-Federalists regarding the Constitution was that it granted excessive power to the federal government at the expense of state authority and individual liberties. They feared that a strong central government could lead to tyranny, much like the British monarchy that had been overthrown during the American Revolution. Their apprehensions stemmed from the belief that the Constitution did not sufficiently safeguard the rights of individuals and that it transformed the federal structure in a way that diminished the autonomy of the states.

The Anti-Federalists advocated for a Bill of Rights to explicitly enumerate protections for individual freedoms and to limit the reach of federal power. Their focus on the distribution of power and the importance of state sovereignty underscored their resistance to the proposed Constitution, emphasizing a preference for a confederation of states with a more operational autonomy.