Hey- wanna hear a story about a country bitterly divided, partisan politics, collusion and overreach by the executive branch, and the rise of fake news?
Wait, where are you going? Oh, heavens no, I’m not talking about today’s current political scene! Instead, let me take you back to the ‘90s. The 1790s.
Yes, way back when good old George Washington was President, we found our freshly hatched country divided in an ideological battle that pitted “the people” against “the aristocracy.”
In order to form a more perfect union, the Founding Fathers began with the ideal that we all had the same vision for the country and there was no need for “factions” or “sects”. George Washington had no party affiliation, the only President to ever achieve that distinction. There was only the spirit of Republicanism– the ideal of creating a pure and just society in which all men are created equal. Ah, but therein lies the rub. Human beings are just not capable of considering everyone else their equal. Some people, sure. All people? About that….
Humans are hard wired for competition (you may have heard the phrase “survival of the fittest”), and every single person feels deep in their soul that they are somehow more fit than someone else. Before you tell me that I’m wrong about you, think about someone in your life that you do not like, even for the smallest reason, and ask yourself why. I’ll wait.
If you answered that this person is <insert flaw>, and you think <insert flaw> is terrible, you have decided that you are in some way superior. You do not have this flaw; therefore, you are the better person. See, I’m not talking about the naked hatred of racism or sexism, but the feeling that you are somehow smarter, more attractive, or even nicer than someone else, even if just slightly. Even if you feel like a loser, you’re pretty sure you’re not as big of a loser as that guy. And that can be a recipe for disaster in a place where everyone is supposedly equal.
But, therein lies the need for government, as stated by James Madison in The Federalist #51: “But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary.”
So, while Republicanism was a noble ideal, it didn’t necessarily meet the expectations of all the people. There were big problems the new country needed to solve, including repayment of debt, creation of government, and just how to bond all of the disparate states together into a single union. The people were hopeful, but getting a little worried about how this was all gonna work. They didn’t love all the ideas, and with this freedom of speech thing, they made their opinions known. And they found worthy champions in Washington’s own cabinet: Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, and Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton. And this, my friends, was the beginning of partisan politics.
Thomas Jefferson represented “the people” and Alexander Hamilton represented “the aristocracy.” And before you jump on your particular bandwagon, please notice that I use these terms in quotes. Jefferson coined these attributes, hence his more appealing “populist” label. While Jefferson held populist ideals, he was well educated, owned several plantations, and kept slaves, which set him quite above the common man. While Hamilton represented business interests and creation of wealth, his extremely humble beginnings leant faith to the mission of equality for all men, including slaves.
So, let’s meet our gladiators and hear about their platforms:
In the Democratic Republican corner: Thomas Jefferson! You probably know him as the chief author of the Declaration of Independence and the third President of the United States. Jefferson believed that this country should be a peaceful agrarian society, where free individuals could live in harmony, with little government oversight and interference. He felt a big government was inherently corrupt, as were standing armies, established religions, and any promotion of “a monied interest.” He believed in states rights and local control, and that the strongest branch of any central government should be the Legislative branch, representing the will of the people. While brilliant in so many ways, Jefferson has no head for business, and spent much of his life in debt. In contrast to his views on moneyed pursuits, he lived a lavish lifestyle mostly financed on credit, and he had plenty of slaves to support his habits. He was violently opposed to anything that smacked of Great Britain or the monarchy, but had an undying love for France, based on his dealings with the court of Louis XVI – you know, the guy who was beheaded in the French Revolution because he had no idea how his people actually lived.
In the Federalist Corner: Alexander Hamilton! You probably know him from the $10 bill and the Broadway musical, or as the loser in an epic duel with Aaron Burr. Hamilton believed we needed a strong central government with a vigorous Executive branch, and a standing army to set us on a road to complete independence from Europe. He also believed that we needed a strong manufacturing and business community, to provide us the engine for economic recovery from the war, and further distance us from reliance on foreign powers. He thought that the people should elect leaders that were of the intellectual elite, as they would have the more just intentions for society (Jefferson and other Founders pretty much agreed on this score). An immigrant and self-made man, Hamilton believed that anyone could rise above their “station” in our new country and become prosperous, through education and hard work. Even though he had a tremendous head for business, he had a hair-trigger temper and some very thin skin, which led to a number of terrible decisions that left his reputation in tatters, and eventually got him killed. He also suffered from debt, as public service paid poorly, and despite his critic’s accusations, he refused to invest in the speculation market he created, concerned that it might be perceived as ill-gotten gains on his position.
Both of these incredibly intelligent and talented men had the same noble goal: to establish a functioning country with a free populace that could stand on its own. Both were lousy with ambition, had unshakeable faith in their own abilities, and an overwhelming desire to be known as the smartest guy in any room. Both ignored inconvenient truths, acted covertly to achieve their goals, and were entirely convinced of their own righteousness. And they couldn’t stand each other.
By 1791, their animosity led to a complete divide in Washington’s cabinet, and within the country. It seemed that the squabbling would tear our new nation apart, and Washington worked hard to remain above the fray, to keep the appearance of peace. The President was a thoughtful and deliberate man, who took a practical approach to most matters. While he wanted nothing more than to live out Jefferson agrarian ideal at Mt. Vernon, he knew that the country needed to be bound together by Hamiltonian financial interests or the whole thing would collapse. So he let the boys duke it out, and boy, did they duke. You might think that executive overreach, conspiring with foreign governments, and White House leaks are new toys in our political playpen, but these guys invented them and made a whole new game of it.
So, let’s talk about conspiracy with foreign governments and executive branch overreach:
Alexander Hamilton wanted to promote trade with Great Britain, which was, obviously, a thorny issue after the Revolution. Jefferson thought any dealings with the British were treacherous. He wanted to use France as the primary trading partner, neglecting to factor in that France exported far fewer items of practical use to every day Americans. The French Revolution was raging at this time, and Jefferson thought the U.S. needed to support France in its fight against England. Washington and Hamilton disagreed on that score, and the U.S. was to remain neutral. Jefferson and his followers were furious about this; after all, France had supported us in our Revolution! But the French Revolution was a bloody damn mess, which Jefferson refused to acknowledge, and we had no means to support fighting on their behalf, being broke and without an army or navy.
Hamilton arranged meetings with the British Ambassador, George Hammond, to lay the groundwork for future trading improvements. These meetings were conducted in secret without representation from the State Department, and would eventually lead to the creation of the Jay Treaty in 1794 – proposing new trading rules between the U.S. and Great Britain. In trying to guarantee good relations with the British, Hamilton let them know that we wouldn’t try and join other neutral countries to defend each other, which was our main bargaining chip. While we ended up with the surrender of northwestern posts and “most favored nation” commercial status, the treaty was much more favorable to Britain and deeply unpopular in U.S.
Meanwhile, the French had sent an envoy, Edmond Charles Genêt, to the U.S. in April of 1793. Instead of coming directly to Philadelphia to present himself to the President, he stayed in South Carolina, recruiting Americans to his cause and outfitting American ships as “privateers.” In an effort to support his French friends, Jefferson didn’t push Genêt to present himself, as was customary, but did issue a warning when he finally showed up, which Genêt promptly ignored. But when one of Genêt’s privateers attacked a British trading vessel, endangering our statement of neutrality, Jefferson was forced to issue a recall order to France to have the envoy sent home. Later, as Vice President, Jefferson would conduct meetings with the French consul in which he discredited President Adams, urged France to attack Britain, and gave the French the nerve to push back on Adams’ efforts to secure peace.
Neither man was particularly good at coloring within the lines of their actual jobs. Hamilton frequently overstepped his role – he thought of himself as Prime Minister-and worked behind the scenes to get his way. He lobbied members of Congress relentlessly, and campaigned against Jefferson with Washington and other members of the Cabinet.
Even more so than Hamilton, Jefferson was a master of pulling strings to secure his vision. He campaigned against Hamilton with Washington, but was more likely to use supporters like then-Senator James Madison to echo his opinions to the rest of the world. He preferred to stay on his pedestal, and had his eye on the long game. He even resigned from Washington’s cabinet, purportedly to return to his “simple life,” but was soon back in the fray, from a much more comfortable distance.
This brings us to the rise of fake news. As Jefferson and Hamilton’s distaste for each other increased, they started slinging arrows in the press, publishing under pseudonyms or by having supporters parrot their words. Hamilton had a lot of experience with this, as it was his weapon of choice throughout his lifetime. Jefferson was more circumspect, pushing others to enter the fray on his behalf, so he could remain aloof.
At the time, freedom of the press was guaranteed by the Constitution, and being that there wasn’t even electricity, much less a telephone, newspapers and pamphlets were really the only way to get your opinion into the public eye. There were hundreds of small newspapers throughout the U.S., which would print articles and essays from citizens, as well as reprints from bigger newspapers, and news gathered by the editor. Pamphlets were self-published and sold, and tended to focus on one issue. As this was before pesky things like fact checking, much of what was said was speculative, somewhat libelous, and intended to scare people into supporting their side. Sound familiar?
The newspaper business boomed.
As Secretary of State, Jefferson hired a man as a “translator”, even though the man spoke only French, in which Jefferson was fluent. So what, you say? Well, this guy, Philip Freneau, was chiefly employed at turning out a newspaper, The National Gazette, which touted Democratic Republican views, and attacked those who disagreed. That’s right; tax dollars went to support a newspaper that campaigned openly against the administration in which its benefactor served.
Hamilton was no better, helping to bail out the leading Federalist newspaper, The Gazette of the United States, when it ran into financial trouble, and was well known as a pamphleteer and newspaper contributor. Of course, his writings praised the administration and it’s policies, most of which had Hamilton’s fingerprints all over them. Jefferson’s theories were decried as unrealistic fantasies, which could only harm the nation.
The heated rhetoric soon turned personal, with Jefferson and his group making suggestive comments about Hamilton’s infidelities, painting him as an evil and corrupt monarchist; a bastard immigrant who couldn’t possibly have the best interests of the country at heart. Hamilton countered with sly references to Jefferson’s close relationship with his slaves, and delivering withering diatribes against his aristocratic background and his inability to see reality, i.e., he lived well off slave labor, yet espoused the purity of the common man.
Jefferson ended up winning that battle, as Hamilton was never able to live down the rumors of corruption, even as he proved his innocence. However, Hamilton won the war, as Jefferson was never able to dismantle the economy that Hamilton had put in place that knit the states together in a common interest, and had to come to terms with the need for well-kept finances and a centralized government.
As time has marched on, we’ve somehow started believing that this country was founded by a bunch of guys who were completely fair-minded and hugged out their differences. Rather, it was a knife fight by some of the greatest minds in our history who saw themselves as infallible.
It’s stunning to think that our sainted Founders could be so much like, well, us. They were so quick to paint each other as wrong and ignore any evidence to the contrary; in the end, we needed both visions to move forward. Our entire country is based on the bedrock of their combined ideals, but still we insist that “my way” is better than “your way.”
When you think we are living in unprecedented times, remember that the arc of history is long, human nature is unchanging, and all this shit has happened before. We have the historical knowledge and cultural basis for major forward movement, but given our current political climate, it looks like we’re in for another long knife fight. I just hope we’re the better for it in the future.
Who knows?
But better has happened before.
