MickHigan

11:47

Rules for Changing a Limited Republican Government into an Unlimited Hereditary One

1784-1796 Organizing the New Nation THE ANNALS OF AMERICA Philip Freneau Rules for Changing a Republic [into a Democracy, then] into a Monarchy Those who had opposed the constitution thought their fears justified by the conduct of the government that began to function in 1789. Under the aggressive leadership of Alexander Hamilton, the secretary of the treasury, economic measures were taken that favored the few, while a effective party machine was organized and the army strengthened in such a way as to suggest an intent to control rather than to represent the many. The whole tone of Washington's administration was aristocratic, favoring as it did the educated, the wealthy, the clergy, and the press, who were fearful of "mob rule" and preferred to see what Hamilton called "gentlemen of principle and property" in command. As Hamilton had at his service a newspaper - John Fenno's Gazette of the United States - to support his policies, his opponents, led by Jefferson and Madison, decided to establish a rival newspaper, the National Gazette. Philip Freneau, an experienced journalist of known democratic leanings, was chosen to edit the paper. The editorial, reprinted here, is typical of those in which Freneau criticized the Hamiltonian program from 1791 to 1793. Source: American Museum, July 1792: "Rules for Changing a Limited Republican Government into an Unlimited Hereditary One." Transcripts here: https://web.archive.org/web/20190829205144/https://www.constitution.org/cmt/freneau/republic2monarchy.htm