Us History

            By 1789 the United States had overthrown the repressive British government and replaced the unstable Articles of Confederation with the new Constitution. Still an infant nation, America set sail on an uncharted ocean. It boldly endeavored to assert the ideology of republicanism on an enormous scale, a feat no other nation had attempted. After coasting through a troubled decade the United States would once more encounter turbulent waters. Domestic turmoil and international crisis embroiled the 1790s. The new Republic had a shaky start. It experienced economic insecurity as finances dwindled. Alexander Hamilton's plans to correct the economic troubles were meet with fierce resistance by Thomas Jefferson. Hamilton and Jefferson's differences soon erupted into a bitter rivalry. During this period the Americans witnessed the French Revolution from a far but felt its repercussions nonetheless. Differing Hamiltonian Federalist and Jeffersonian Democrat stances on foreign policy issues drew the United States into the European quarrel. The Federalists utilizing the momentum of anti-French sentiments that stemmed from the French Revolution were able to pass the Alien and Sedition Acts through Congress. The acts aimed at silencing the Jeffersonian opposition severely infringed on the rights guaranteed by the Constitution. Questions regarding the extent of federal powers soon arose. The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 embodied the controversies that plagued the 1790s. .
             As Secretary of Treasury, Alexander Hamilton set out to alleviate the economic vexations that had afflicted the Articles of Confederation. Hamilton aimed to bolster the nation's credit by funding the national debt at par and assuming the debts incurred by the states during the war for independence. At the forefront of Hamilton's daring financial plan was the Bank of the United States. Jefferson strongly disapproved of Hamilton's economic endeavors especially that of the bank (Document E).