America = Whole of Europe?

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That was the charge of the Republicans, especially Jefferson, at the time. And it was a source of real problems for the Federalists. The Republicans were Francophiles and felt that what they had started was about to engulf all of Europe, starting with France and that England would be the main obstacle to liberty. The charge was that the Federalists were Anglo-philes who wanted to create an American version of British arsitocracy.

You can make the same charge as Jefferson and Madison did, but I don't agree. I think that Adams and Washington wanted to insure that the colonies did not drift into two sectional halves. Adams for sure was mostly concerned with a true balance of power in the three branches of government. His mid-night appointment of John Marshall was a real sore spot between him and Jefferson. As Cheif Justice of the Supreme court, Marshall fought off Jefferson and the republicans who sought to curtail the power of the courts.

In the end Adams' argument previaled. He predicated that the French revolution would end in disaster, and of course it did once Napoleon declared himself emperor. Jefferson was disappointed and said, "It is what it is." But Jefferson and Madison only gained in strength throughtout the frist half of the 19th Century and at the central core of their belief was the notion of states' rights. And we agree where that argument ended. But there are still many states' rights advocates who are influenced by the thinking and ideas of Jefferson. For many he is still the original American authority on true Liberty and the rights of the individual.

[ April 02, 2004, 22:22: Message edited by: Chandos the Red ]