We are all republicans: The Crisis of Party Politics

1
We are all republicans The Crisis of Party
Politics

• The Novelty of Political Factions and the
  Misunderstanding Surrounding them

2
I. Thumbnail Sketch of American Political Party
History

• Constitutional Ratification factions were not
  the first political party system
• 1st Federalists vs. Democratic Republicans
  (1794)
• Federalists disintegrate by 1815 National
  Republicans sole political party
• 2nd Democrats (1828) vs. Whigs (1836)
• Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) fractures Democrats
  and destroys the Whigs
• 3rd Democrats (1828) vs. Republicans (1856)

3
II. Washington A Man Above Party

• Unanimous Election
• His Inauguration
• Salary, Title and Public Appearances
• Washingtons Cabinet
• His Popularity as a Problem
• Judiciary Act of 1789
• First Tariff (1789)

4
III. Alexander Hamilton and the Federalists

• Hamiltons Background
• Admirer of the British
• Envisions Commercial Republic
• Wants wealthy people tied to the new nation
• Loose interpretation of Constitution

5
IV. Thomas Jefferson and the Republicans

• Jeffersons Background
• Admirer of the French
• Envisions Agrarian Republic
• More optimistic about common man
• Opposed to large national government
• Strict Interpretation of the Constitution

6
V. Domestic Debate Hamiltons Reports

• Report on Public Credit (January, 1790)
• --Benjamin Banneker
• Report on Banking (January, 1791)
• -- Necessary and Proper Clause
• --Mint Act of 1792
• Report on Manufactures (December 1791)

7
VI. Washingtons Second Term The Political
Pot Comes to Boil
8
A. War in Europe

• The Evolution of the First Political Party System
• The French Revolution and War with the British
• --1778 Alliance with France valid or not?

9
A. War in Europe (cont)

• The visit of Edmond Genet (April, 1793)
• U.S. adopts neutral foreign policy
• British continue occupation of northwest forts
  and close French ports in the West Indies to
  American ships

10
B. Jays Treaty

• Jays Mission
• Results of the Negotiations
• Popular Outrage over the Treaty
• Battle of Fallen Timbers (August, 1794)
• Treaty of Greenville (1795)
• Pinckneys Treaty (1796)

11
C. Democratic-Republicans Gain Ground

• The role of partisan newspapers in the political
  turmoil
• --Federalist Gazette of the United States
• --Republican National Gazette
• Democratic-Republican Clubs
• The Whiskey Rebellion (1794)
• --25 excise tax on whiskey

12
D. Washingtons Farewell Address (September 1796)

• Timing of the Address and the Political
  Controversy surrounding it
• Warned against political factions
• Warned against entangling foreign alliances
• Washington ends second term with popularity and
  prestige diminishedno longer seen as a man above
  politics

13
VII. The Presidency of John Adams

• The Election of 1796
• Adams political background
• Jefferson as Adams Vice-president
• Keeps Washingtons Cabinet that remains more
  loyal to Hamilton

14
A. The Quasi-War and the XYZ Affair

• U.S. relations with France deteriorated after
  Jays Treaty
• The Quasi-War (1797-1800)
• The Logan Act (1799)
• The XYZ Affair (1798)

15
A. The Quasi-War and the XYZ Affair (cont)

• Federalists press for a larger army
• Adams strengthens U.S. Navy
• -- U.S.S. Constitution (Old Ironsides)
• Adams resists a declaration of War against France

16
B. Alien and Sedition Acts

• First crisis in American history endangering
  American civil liberties
• The Alien Acts
• The Sedition Act
• Violence in Congress and the possibility of
  insurrection
• The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions

17
C. Peace with France

• Adams again tries diplomacy in 1799 to make peace
  with the French
• Adams fires disloyal members of his cabinet and
  dismantles army
• Treaty of 1778 voided and freer trade with the
  French guaranteed
• Adams calls the French mission the most
  successful act of his life

18
VIII. Election of 1800 A Peaceful Revolution

• Federalists divided and Hamilton tries to rig the
  election again
• Terrible mudslinging in this election
• Election ends up in a tie between Jefferson and
  Aaron Burr

19
VIII. Election of 1800 (cont)

• Adams appointment of the midnight judges
• --Chief Justice John Marshall
• Adams refuses to attend Jeffersons inaugural
• Significance of a peaceful transfer of power