Which group supported a strong national government and opposed the Bill of Rights?

The group that supported a strong national government and opposed the Bill of Rights is the Federalists. They believed that a robust central government was necessary to maintain order and promote the general welfare of the nation. The Federalists argued that the Constitution, as it was originally drafted, provided sufficient protection for individual liberties through its structure of government and separation of powers.

They were concerned that adding a Bill of Rights could imply that the government had powers beyond those expressly granted in the Constitution. This belief stemmed from the idea that if certain rights were listed, others might be considered unprotected simply because they were not mentioned. The Federalists effectively conveyed their arguments in The Federalist Papers, a series of essays advocating for the ratification of the Constitution, emphasizing the need for a strong national framework to address issues that individual states could not resolve effectively on their own.

In contrast, other groups like the Antifederalists were primarily concerned about the potential for government overreach and advocated for clearer protections of individual rights, leading them to support the addition of a Bill of Rights.