American Politics in the Early Republic : The New Nation in Crisis

by James Roger Sharp

• ISBN13: 9780300065190
• ISBN10: 0300065191
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 1995-08-30
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

During the years from 1789 to 1801, the republican political institutions forged by the American Constitution were put to the test. A new nation - born in revolution, divided over the nature of republicanism, undermined by deep-seated sectional allegiances, and mired in foreign policy entanglements - faced the challenge of creating a stable, enduring national authority and union. In this engagingly written book, James Roger Sharp offers a penetrating new assessment disputing the conventional wisdom that the birth of the country was a relatively painless and unexceptional one. Instead, he tells the dramatic story of how the euphoria surrounding the inauguration of George Washington as the country's first president quickly soured. Soon, the Federalist defenders of the administration and their Republican critics regarded each other as bitter political enemies. The intense partisanship prevented the acceptance of the idea that an opposition could both oppose and be loyal to the government. As a result, the nation teetered on the brink of disintegration as fear, insurrection, and threats of secession abounded. Many even envisioned armed civil conflict as a possible outcome. Despite the polarization the nation did manage to survive its first trial. The election of Thomas Jefferson in 1801 and the nonviolent transfer of power from one political group to another ended the immediate crisis. But sectionally based politics continued to plague the nation and eventually led to the Civil War.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction	1	(16)
Part I The Breakdown of Elite Consensus, 1789 to 1792	17	(36)
1. George Washington and the New Nation	17	(14)
2. Disappointed Expectations: The Failure of Elite Consensus	31	(22)
Part II The Polarization of the Elite, 1792 to 1798	53	(134)
3. The Election of 1792: Grappling with the Concept of Representation	53	(16)
4. The French Revolution and the Awakening of the Democratic Spirit	69	(23)
5. Threats to the Union	92	(21)
6. The Jay Treaty	113	(25)
7. The Election of 1796	138	(25)
8. The War Crisis and the Alien and Sedition Acts	163	(24)
Part III The Crisis of Union, 1798 to 1801	187	(89)
9. The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions: Making a Refuge for the Oppressed	187	(21)
10. 1799: Virginia Versus the Hamiltonian Federalists and the Fears of Armed Conflict	208	(18)
11. The Election of 1800	226	(24)
12. Electoral Gridlock: the Crisis of 1801	250	(26)
Epilogue	276	(13)
Notes	289	(48)
Bibliography	337	(12)
Index	349