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Difficulty: MediumPolitics, Hamilton's Plan, and Foreign Policy in the New Republic

“In place of that noble love of liberty and republican government which carried us triumphantly through the war, an Anglican, monarchical, and aristocratical party has sprung up, whose avowed object is to draw over us the substance, as they have already done the shadow, of the British government. . . . Against us are the Executive, the Judiciary, two out of three branches of the Legislature, all the officers of the government, all who want to be officers, all timid men who prefer the calm of despotism to the boisterous sea of liberty.”

— Thomas Jefferson, letter to Philip Mazzei, 1796

Which of the following developments in the 1790s best explains the political sentiment expressed in the excerpt?

  1. A
    The decision by the Washington administration to provide military aid to the French Republic in its war against Great Britain.
  2. The implementation of Alexander Hamilton's economic policies and the ratification of Jay's Treaty.Answer
  3. C
    The decision by the federal government to return to the decentralized governance structure of the Articles of Confederation.
  4. D
    The development of a bipartisan consensus supporting a permanent military alliance with Great Britain.

Answer

The implementation of Alexander Hamilton's economic policies and the ratification of Jay's Treaty.
The correct option is correct because the 1790s saw the emergence of the first party system, driven by intense disagreements over domestic and foreign policy. Alexander Hamilton's financial plan (including the national bank and federal debt assumption) and the ratification of Jay's Treaty (which settled outstanding issues with Great Britain but was seen as pro-British) convinced Thomas Jefferson and other Democratic-Republicans that the Federalists were attempting to build an aristocratic government styled after the British monarchy.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the source and author of the excerpt.
The excerpt is from a 1796 letter by Thomas Jefferson criticizing an 'Anglican, monarchical, and aristocratical party' that seeks to copy the British government.
Identifying the author and context helps determine which political faction is speaking and what they are opposing.
2
Link the author's criticisms to historical events of the 1790s.
Jefferson (a Democratic-Republican) is criticizing the Federalists, who controlled the presidency (Executive) and Congress. The Federalists championed Hamilton's financial plan (centralized economic power) and Jay's Treaty (closer diplomatic and trade ties with Britain).
Connecting the ideological complaints in the text to specific policies explains the origin of the political tension.
3
Evaluate the options to find the development that aligns with this factional division.
The option referencing Hamilton's financial program and Jay's Treaty directly represents the core issues that polarized the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans during this decade.
Selecting the option that matches the historical cause of the factionalism shown in the text provides the correct answer.

Key Concept

The rise of the first party system (Federalists vs. Democratic-Republicans) over domestic economic policies and foreign relations.
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Topics

Politics, Hamilton's Plan, and Foreign Policy in the New Republic

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