What happened to the Federalists and Anti-federalists after the Constitution was ratified?

Because the United States was a large, diverse nation, the Framers expected it to have many political parties, which would represent different regions and interests. They did not foresee that the two factions, Federalists and Anti-federalists, that arose during the dispute over the Constitution, would harden into political parties (which called themselves Federalists and Democratic-Republicans or simply Republicans). Similarly, they did not foresee that the United States would quickly develop a two-party system, in which Federalists and Republicans would try to gain the support of the majority of American voters. But this is precisely what happened in the 1790s, one of the most troubled eras in American political history.

Federalists (including the first and second presidents, George Washington and John Adams, and Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton) favored a strong national government, which would build American power and prestige and stimulate the growth of commerce. Democratic-Republicans (most notably, Thomas Jefferson) feared a powerful government, distrusted ties between government and commercial interests, and urged that power be decentralized, so that individual states possessed more authority.

The government of the United States endured several severe tests during the 1790s. It fought to conquer Indians on the Western frontier. It also fought against some American citizens: in 1794, angered by a new tax on whisky designed to raise money for the federal government, some frontier farmers, especially in Pennsylvania, staged the Whisky Rebellion. The federal government acted forcefully to stop the Whisky rebels. For a time, the president himself, George Washington, actually led American forces against the rebels. Like Shays' Rebellion before it, the Whisky Rebellion reminded Americans of the difficulty of controlling farmers along the Western frontier, far removed from centers of political authority.