Best Laid Plans...: U. S. Response to Napoleonic Wars
Jefferson and the Republicans as well as the Federalists are determined to maintain neutrality in the Napoleonic Wars. In order to enforce neutrality Jefferson imposes an embargo to keep Americans from trading abroad. This triggers a serious economi...
Vision for a Nation: Testing the Design of the Constitution
The first election under the Constitution is scheduled for the early months of 1789. The newly-elected Congress, says historian Bernard Bailyn, is a "creative force in our constitutional life" for two reasons: the Bill of Rights, submitted to the Ho...
Vision for a Nation: Power Struggle Between Federalists and Republicans
For twelve years, control of the new government remains firmly in the hands of the Federalists, but gaining strength in the 1790s is a group that favors a more modest central government. Both points of view are represented in Washington's cabinet. A...
Pressures from Within: Aftermath of War of 1812
In the aftermath of the war of 1812, a sense of pride and determination seems to dominate the American scene--pride that the nation had survived yet another war with Great Britain and determination to avoid the mistakes that had weakened the country...