During the creation of the new United States government in 1787, Federalists supported the adoption of the new Constitution. Federalists included Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison—the writers of the Federalist Papers. In 1791, Hamilton and other Federalists established the Federalist Party, which supported strong central government and a loose interpretation of the Constitution.
When asked what kind of government the Constitutional Convention had created, Benjamin Franklin replied: “A republic, if you can keep it.” Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution contains an unamendable provision that begins: “The United States shall guarantee to every state in this Union a republican form of government.” This refers to the principles and practices appropriate to a government in which ultimate authority resides in the people and in which elected officials and representatives are responsible to the people and must govern...
The Federalist Party evolved from the core of Federalists, like George Washington and Alexander Hamilton, who wrote and defended the US Constitution in 1787–1788. The new political party advocated a strong central government and supported a liberal construction of the Constitution. John Adams, elected in 1796, served as the only Federalist Party president, and the party held little power after 1801.
John Jay (1745–1829) was a member of the Continental Congress (1774–1776, 1778–1779). He also served as that body’s president (1778–1779). He went on to hold a variety of diplomatic roles, and was one of the negotiators and signers of the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War. From 1784 to 1789, Jay was secretary of foreign affairs. He was also author, with Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, of The Federalist (1788), a landmark collection of essays promoting the US Constitution. In 1789, Jay accepted Washington’s...
Elbridge Gerry (1744–1814) served in the Massachusetts General Court, the provincial congress, and committee of safety, and as chairman of the state committee of supply before he attended the Continental Congress in 1776–1780 and 1783–1785. A signer of the Declaration of Independence, Gerry refused to sign the Constitution because he feared that it invested too much authority in the central government. He was a member of Congress from 1789 to 1793, a two-term Massachusetts governor, and vice president under James Madison. The eponymous term...
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821) seized power in France at the end of the French Revolution and turned his focus toward expanding his empire. In 1803, Napoleon sold the entire Louisiana Territory to the United States. Also in 1803, just before crowning himself emperor, Napoleon began waging wars for expansion, conquering most of Europe. Conflict between France and Great Britain complicated things for neutral America, with the warring countries placing restrictions on American trade. The United States responded to the restrictions with the...
James Madison (1751–1836) was born in Port Conway, Virginia. He graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in two years rather than the usual four with concentrations in theology, history, and law. In 1776, he drafted Virginia’s first constitution and bill of rights, which later became a model for the Bill of Rights amendments to the US Constitution. Madison supported religious toleration and the separation of church and state. He was elected to the Continental Congress in 1779 and the Constitutional Convention in...
