Ridiculously Fun Political Stuff
Washington’s Farewell
o His farewell address was published in newspapers (1796)
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Warned against a “party system” in politics
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Advised against “permanent alliances”
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Favored “temporary alliances” for “extraordinary emergencies”
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Warned against an overly powerful military
o The federal government was firmly established
o America had avoided foreign entanglement, and expanded its economy
o By bowing out after two terms, he set a precedent that would become the standard for the office
The Election of 1796
o Hamilton had lost much national favor with his economic policies, so the Federalists chose VP John Adams as their candidate
o The Democratic-Republicans ran Thomas Jefferson
o The major issue continued to be the power of the federal government
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The Federalists touted the successes of the federal government
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The Democratic-Republicans pointed to issues like the Whiskey Rebellion and Jay’s Treaty
o Adams won a narrow electoral victory: 71-68
o Adams was an intellectual aristocrat, with no connections to the masses
o He came into a nearly impossible situation:
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Following the fairly beloved and revered Washington
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Increasing hostility with the French over Jay’s Treaty
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Hamilton and other Federalists had splintered into the “High Federalists” – supporters of war with France
The Federalist Witch Hunt
o Empowered by the weakening of Jeffersonians due to the XYZ Affair, the Federalists began pushing laws through Congress
o The Alien and Sedition Acts
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The Alien Acts
Changed the citizenship requirements for aliens from 5 years residence to 14 years
o Attempt to keep out the “dregs” of Europe
o Coincidentally, most of those “dregs” tended to vote Democratic-Republican
The president gained the authority to deport or detain any alien during times of hostility
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The Sedition Act
Anyone who impeded the government or falsely defamed its officials could be fined or imprisoned
Many newspapers had taken to criticizing the national foreign policy regarding France
Ten Jeffersonian editors were tried and convicted under the Sedition Act
o Most famously was congressman Matthew Lyon, who criticized President Adams
The highly unconstitutional law was upheld by the (Federalist dominated) Supreme Court
The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
o Resenting the Alien and (especially) Sedition Acts, D-Rs Jefferson and Madison took the offensive (secretly)
o Madison and Jefferson wrote resolutions for Virginia and Kentucky
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They stressed the “compact theory” – the federal government derived its rights from the states, therefore the states
had the final say in the authority of the federal government
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Jefferson’s Kentucky Resolution and Madison’s Virginia Resolution
stated that the federal government had exceeded its authority
introduced the doctrine of “nullification” a state can declare a constitutional law “null”
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Federalists argued that the federal government derived its power from the people, and the Supreme court had the
final authority to nullify congressional laws
The Supreme Court would eventually adopt this power (Judicial Review)
Federalists vs. Democratic-Republicans
o See Chart on p. 208 of textbook or Hamilton/Jefferson comparisons