CHAPTER II
POLITICAL ENTANGLEMENTS AND HYSTERIA
I. THE SITUATION PRIOR TO 1798
Party history in New England, as elsewhere throughout the Union, began with the inauguration of the new govern- ment in 1789.[1] Such differences of opinion concerning matters of public policy as had previously existed were con- fined to unorganized groups whose leaders depended chiefly on the devotion of their personal following to mould pop- ular opinion. But the setting up of the Federal government and the fixing of national standards brought to light issues which challenged fundamental conceptions and interests. and a definite rift in public sentiment was not long in ap- pearing. By 1793 the main line of political cleavage was plainly visible. The Federalists, who stood for the impor- tance of a strong central government, found themselves con- fronted with an organized opposition to which in time the terms Anti-Federalists, Republicans, and Democrats were applied.[2]
In 1793 the war between England and France came into American politics, providing issues for party controversy for years to come. The sympathies of the Federalists, who
- ↑ Robinson, Jeffersonian Democracy in New England, p. i; Channing, History of the United States, vol. iv, p. 150.
- ↑ "The term "Anti-Federalist " was born out of the struggle which developed over the adoption of the national constitution. The term "Republican" was one of the by-products of the discussion which arose in this country, from 1792 on, over French revolutionary ideals. Cf. Johnston, American Political History, pt. i, p. 207.
