About the Work
This book presents an editorial introduction to and historical analysis of Thomas Paine’s pamphlet, “To the Citizens of Pennsylvania on the Proposal for Calling a Convention.” The work is framed within a broader survey of the political landscape of the early United States under the Constitution, from the first federal Congress through the election of 1800. The text is not solely Paine’s own writing; rather, it is a composite that includes substantial editorial commentary and historical narrative situating Paine’s pamphlet within the partisan conflicts of the 1790s. The material covers the dominance of Federalists in the early government, the rise of political parties, the impact of the French Revolution on American politics, and the major domestic and foreign crises of the period. The book’s form is that of a historical and editorial analysis, drawing on speeches, reports, letters, and contemporary accounts to reconstruct the context in which Paine wrote.
Context
The book opens by describing the political situation in the early federal government. The first Congress was dominated by Federalists: eleven Senators, led by financier Robert Morris, had been delegates to the national convention, and James Madison headed several House members who had also been at Philadelphia in 1787. President Washington’s appointments strengthened the new system, with Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury, General Knox heading the War Department, and Edmund Randolph as Attorney-General, all conspicuous friends of the experiment. Every federal judiciary appointee, from Chief Justice John Jay down to district court justices, had favored ratification; a majority had served in the national convention or state ratifying conventions. Only Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State, was reckoned a doubter, having expressed opinions both for and against the Constitution while abroad as minister at Paris during its drafting and ratification.
The ratification contest had been bitter. John Marshall wrote that its “interesting nature,” “equality of the parties,” and “animation produced inevitably by ardent debate” embittered the vanquished. Leaders knew Rhode Island and North Carolina remained outside the union, and that Massachusetts, Virginia, and New York had approved narrowly. State conventions had drawn amendments for submission. Madison proposed, and Congress adopted, amendments; ten were ratified by 1791, guaranteeing religious freedom, speech, press, assembly, petition, grand jury indictment, and trial by jury. The tenth amendment reserved undelegated powers to states or people. Seven years later, the eleventh amendment forbade federal courts hearing suits against states by citizens, following a heated debate over a citizen suing “the sovereign state” of Georgia.
Hamilton’s financial program was central to the political conflicts that followed. His January 9, 1790 Report on Public Credit proposed consolidating all old Revolutionary War bonds and certificates into one national debt, issuing new interest-bearing bonds—”funding the debt.” He then proposed “assuming” state debts, arguing this would make creditors look to federal rather than state government. Against proposals to discriminate between original holders and speculators (who had bought bonds at ten to thirty cents on the dollar), Hamilton insisted on redeeming every bond at face value, though with lower interest rates on some and deferred interest on others. Funding passed easily; assumption faced Southern opposition as a states’ rights violation benefiting Northern speculators, while New England threatened dissolution. A deadlock over the capital’s location (then New York City) threatened the government. Jefferson intervened at Hamilton’s appeal, hosting a dinner where opposing leaders compromised: Southern votes for assumption in exchange for votes for the capital on the Potomac, with a ten-year interim at Philadelphia. Hamilton then proposed a United States Bank—a private corporation with $10,000,000 capital (three-fourths in six percent federal bonds, one-fourth specie), issuing paper currency. Jefferson attacked its constitutionality; Hamilton defended it; Washington decided in favor; the bill became law in 1791 for twenty years. Hamilton’s Report on Manufactures argued tariffs would create a home market for farms, ensure independence in war, employ women and children, and strengthen North-South union through commerce; the revenue measure of 1792 bore these arguments’ impress.
Structure of the Book
The book is structured as a continuous historical narrative divided into three main parts. The first part surveys the Federalist dominance in the early government and Hamilton’s financial program. The second part traces the rise of political parties, the leadership of Jefferson and Hamilton, the Whisky Rebellion, and the early stages of the French Revolution. The third part examines the effect of the French Revolution on American politics, including the Genêt affair, the Jay Treaty, Washington’s Farewell Address, the election of 1796, the quarrel with France, the Alien and Sedition Acts, the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, and the election of 1800. The book concludes with the context for Paine’s pamphlet, which is endorsed by Jefferson and widely read among Anti-Federalists.
Detailed Section-by-Section Summary
The first part of the book establishes the political dominance of Federalists in the early government. The first Congress contained eleven Senators led by Robert Morris, all of whom had been delegates to the national convention. James Madison headed several House members who had also been at Philadelphia in 1787. Washington’s appointments strengthened the new system: Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury, General Knox heading the War Department, and Edmund Randolph as Attorney-General, all conspicuous friends of the experiment. Every federal judiciary appointee, from Chief Justice John Jay down to district court justices, had favored ratification; a majority had served in the national convention or state ratifying conventions. Only Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State, was reckoned a doubter, having expressed opinions both for and against the Constitution while abroad as minister at Paris during drafting and ratification.
The ratification contest had been bitter, and leaders knew Rhode Island and North Carolina remained outside the union, and that Massachusetts, Virginia, and New York had approved narrowly. State conventions had drawn amendments for submission. Madison proposed, and Congress adopted, amendments; ten were ratified by 1791, guaranteeing religious freedom, speech, press, assembly, petition, grand jury indictment, and trial by jury. The tenth amendment reserved undelegated powers to states or people. Seven years later, the eleventh amendment forbade federal courts hearing suits against states by citizens, following a heated debate over a citizen suing “the sovereign state” of Georgia.
Hamilton’s financial program is then detailed. His January 9, 1790 Report on Public Credit proposed consolidating all old Revolutionary War bonds and certificates into one national debt, issuing new interest-bearing bonds—”funding the debt.” He then proposed “assuming” state debts, arguing this would make creditors look to federal rather than state government. Against proposals to discriminate between original holders and speculators, Hamilton insisted on redeeming every bond at face value, though with lower interest rates on some and deferred interest on others. Funding passed easily; assumption faced Southern opposition as a states’ rights violation benefiting Northern speculators, while New England threatened dissolution. A deadlock over the capital’s location threatened the government. Jefferson intervened at Hamilton’s appeal, hosting a dinner where opposing leaders compromised: Southern votes for assumption in exchange for votes for the capital on the Potomac, with a ten-year interim at Philadelphia. Hamilton then proposed a United States Bank—a private corporation with $10,000,000 capital (three-fourths in six percent federal bonds, one-fourth specie), issuing paper currency. Jefferson attacked its constitutionality; Hamilton defended it; Washington decided in favor; the bill became law in 1791 for twenty years. Hamilton’s Report on Manufactures argued tariffs would create a home market for farms, ensure independence in war, employ women and children, and strengthen North-South union through commerce; the revenue measure of 1792 bore these arguments’ impress.
The second part of the book traces the rise of political parties. Dissensions over Hamilton’s measures alarmed individuals and states. Critics charged that funding debt at face value favored speculators; assumption of state debts undermined state governments; Congress lacked constitutional power to create a bank, which merely let a private corporation print paper money at high interest; the tariff taxed land and labor for manufacturers’ benefit. Hamilton replied that speculator profits were incidental to restoring public credit; reducing state powers was good given state jealousies; the Constitution should be interpreted broadly per national needs; the bank would enlarge capital for American industries, giving markets to farmers and planters; the tariff would create a home market and employment, benefiting land and labor. Washington fully endorsed this view.
The people divided into Federalists (led by Hamilton) and Anti-Federalists (led by Jefferson). Federalist strength lay in cities—Boston, Providence, Hartford, New York, Philadelphia, Charleston—among manufacturing, financial, and commercial groups. Anti-Federalist strength lay among debt-burdened farmers fearing “a money power” and planters fearing commercial dominance. The farming and planting South presented an almost solid front against assumption, the bank, and the tariff. Conflict grew bitter despite Hamilton’s conciliatory state papers and Washington’s efforts to soften asperity.
Opponents of the administration looked to Jefferson. He had approved some Hamilton measures, declaring he did not understand their significance; he fiercely assailed the bank. He and Hamilton attacked each other at cabinet meetings, shaking with anger; Washington’s pleas prevented an early open break. In 1794 Jefferson resigned as Secretary of State and retired to Virginia to lead the opposition through correspondence and negotiation. Jefferson was shy, modest, halting in speech, disliking public debate, interested in science and philosophy, yet ambitious and shrewd. He believed occasional popular uprisings desirable; Hamilton distrusted the people, reportedly saying “Your people is a great beast.” Jefferson professed faith in the people recklessly. Hamilton desired a great commercial and industrial nation; Jefferson opposed this, fearing riches and urban working classes. Jefferson said mobs of great cities are sores on the body politic; artisans are dangerous elements that make revolutions; workshops should stay in Europe. Agriculture was the only substantial foundation for a republic; independence required free farmers owning their land. Jefferson championed the individual against government, advocating freedom of press, speech, and scientific inquiry.
In 1794, an armed revolt accompanied Anti-Federalist agitation. The occasion was Hamilton’s excise tax on distilled spirits to pay interest on the funded debt. Farmers, especially on the frontier, made whisky in their own stills; federal officers would measure liquor and take tax from their pockets. In western Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina, farmers refused to pay. In Pennsylvania, some sacked and burned tax collectors’ houses, as Revolutionists had mobbed stamp agents thirty years before. Washington called out troops to suppress the rebellion; the movement collapsed, but resentment flared in electing several obdurate Anti-Federalist Congressmen.
The book then turns to foreign influences and domestic politics. A storm broke in Europe—the epoch-making French Revolution. In spring 1789, a few days after Washington’s inauguration, King Louis XVI, bankrupt from extravagance and costly wars, called the “Estates General”—the first meeting in over 150 years—composed of clergy, nobility, and commoners. The “third estate” swept aside the clergy and nobility and resolved into a national assembly. On July 14, 1789, the Bastille, an old royal prison, was stormed and destroyed. On the night of August 4, feudal privileges of the nobility were abolished. A few days later came the Declaration of the Rights of Man, proclaiming the sovereignty of the people. In autumn 1791, Louis XVI was forced to accept a new constitution vesting legislative power in a popular assembly. Little disorder accompanied these changes; a peaceful revolution had stripped the king of royal prerogatives.
French officers and soldiers who served in the American war reported marvelous tales; at Washington’s frugal table, in council with Franklin, or at war conferences, French noblemen learned to respect republican leaders. Travelers carried home stories of popular government. French conservatives regarded this dalliance as playing with fire; one of Lafayette’s aides wrote that youths who acquired “false ideas of government and philanthropy” in America propagated them in France with deplorable success—”this mania of imitation powerfully aided the Revolution”—and it would have been better if “these young philosophers in red-heeled shoes had stayed at home.”
Every step of the early French Revolution was greeted with applause in America. A Boston editor wrote “Liberty will have another feather in her cap.” John Marshall soberly wrote that “In no part of the globe was this revolution hailed with more joy than in America…. But one sentiment existed.” The main key to the Bastille was sent to Washington as “a token of the victory gained by liberty.” Thomas Paine saw “the first ripe fruits of American principles transplanted into Europe.” Federalists and Anti-Federalists regarded France’s new constitution as vindicating American ideals.
Rumors came that all was not well. Noblemen fled to Germany and plotted invasion. Louis XVI negotiated with brother monarchs for help and attempted to escape, only to be captured and returned to Paris in disgrace. Working people, excluded from government, became restless, especially in Paris. Assembling on the Champs de Mars, they signed a petition for another constitution granting suffrage.
The third part of the book examines the effect of the French Revolution on American politics. Hamilton’s Federalists reacted with horror to the Reign of Terror, denouncing all critics as “Jacobins.” A Massachusetts preacher attacked “the atheistical, anarchical, and in other respects immoral principles of the French Republicans,” then assailed Jefferson and the Anti-Federalists for spreading “false French propaganda,” calling such editors “enemies to their country” and “the most infamous and detestable” villains.
Anti-Federalists generally favored the Revolution while deploring its excesses. Paine’s pamphlet, endorsed by Jefferson, was widely read. Democratic societies modeled on French clubs arose; the European monarchical coalition was denounced; Louis XVI’s execution was celebrated at a Philadelphia banquet. Titles like “Sir” were decried, with some adopting “Citizen” (e.g., “Citizen Judge”).
England seized American ships and impressed British-born sailors. France sent “Citizen” Genêt, who was feted en route from Charleston northward. He used American ports for French privateers and invoked the treaty of 1778. Washington received Genêt coldly, proclaimed neutrality, and requested Genêt’s recall. He sent Chief Justice John Jay to England, producing the Jay Treaty of 1794: Britain withdrew from western forts and granted slight trade concessions, but slavery, ship seizures, and impressment were untouched. Washington urged ratification. Jefferson called the treaty “an infamous act”; Hamilton was stoned by a mob in New York; Jay was burned in effigy; Washington refused to give the House treaty papers.
In September 1796, Washington’s Farewell Address warned against sectional jealousies, partisanship, and “the insidious wiles of foreign influence,” urging “steer clear of permanent alliances.” Anti-Federalists adopted the name “Republican”; Jefferson lost to John Adams by four votes. Adams favored “government by an aristocracy of talents and wealth.”
The Directory refused the American minister. Adams sent a commission; the French demanded an apology, cash, and annual tribute—reported as “Mr. X, Mr. Y, and Mr. Z.” War began at sea without declaration until 1800, when a treaty was made with Napoleon. The Alien Act allowed expulsion of dangerous aliens; the Sedition Act penalized false, scandalous writings against the government. Hamilton warned, “Let us not establish a tyranny.” Marshall opposed them as “useless.” The Sedition Act was enforced against Republican editors. Jefferson drafted resolutions declaring the Sedition law null and void; Kentucky passed them in 1798, reaffirming nullification in 1799. Madison led Virginia’s legislature to condemn the acts. In the election of 1800, Republicans blamed Adams for the Alien and Sedition laws and Hamilton’s policies; Federalists used weakened epithets of “Jacobins” and “Anarchists.”
Main Arguments
The book’s main argument is that the early years of the American republic were defined by intense partisan conflict over the scope of federal power, economic policy, and foreign influence. Hamilton’s financial program—funding the debt, assuming state debts, creating a national bank, and enacting protective tariffs—was the catalyst for the formation of political parties. Federalists, led by Hamilton, favored a strong central government, a commercial and industrial nation, and a broad interpretation of the Constitution. Anti-Federalists, led by Jefferson, feared a “money power,” championed agrarian independence, and insisted on strict construction of the Constitution and the protection of individual liberties.
The book also argues that the French Revolution profoundly influenced American politics, dividing Federalists and Anti-Federalists further. Federalists reacted with horror to the Reign of Terror and denounced critics as “Jacobins,” while Anti-Federalists generally sympathized with the Revolution’s ideals while deploring its excesses. Paine’s pamphlet, endorsed by Jefferson, was widely read and contributed to the formation of democratic societies modeled on French clubs. Foreign crises—the Genêt affair, the Jay Treaty, and the quarrel with France—intensified domestic divisions. The Alien and Sedition Acts, passed in 1798, were a direct attempt to suppress opposition, leading to the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, which asserted the right of states to nullify federal laws. The election of 1800 was a referendum on these policies and marked the culmination of the partisan struggles of the decade.
Key Concepts
Key concepts in the book include “funding the debt,” the consolidation of old Revolutionary War bonds into one national debt with new interest-bearing bonds; “assuming” state debts, making creditors look to federal rather than state government; the United States Bank, a private corporation with $10,000,000 capital issuing paper currency; and the protective tariff, designed to create a home market for farms, ensure independence in war, employ women and children, and strengthen North-South union through commerce. The book also introduces the concept of “a money power” feared by debt-burdened farmers, and the idea of agriculture as the only substantial foundation for a republic, with independence requiring free farmers owning their land. The Alien and Sedition Acts are key concepts, with the Sedition Act penalizing false, scandalous writings against the government, and the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions asserting nullification. The Farewell Address’s warning against “the insidious wiles of foreign influence” and the advice to “steer clear of permanent alliances” is another key concept.
Themes
Themes in the book include the tension between federal power and states’ rights, the conflict between commercial and agrarian visions of the American republic, the role of public credit and speculation in the new nation, and the influence of foreign revolutions on domestic politics. The book explores the character and leadership of Hamilton and Jefferson, contrasting Hamilton’s distrust of the people—reportedly saying “Your people is a great beast”—with Jefferson’s professed faith in the people, his belief that occasional popular uprisings are desirable, and his view that mobs of great cities are sores on the body politic. The theme of partisanship is central, with the book tracing how the people divided into Federalists and Anti-Federalists, and how conflict grew bitter despite efforts to soften asperity. The theme of foreign influence is also prominent, with the French Revolution serving as a catalyst for American political divisions, and the Genêt affair and Jay Treaty intensifying partisan conflict. The theme of liberty versus order is explored through the Alien and Sedition Acts, which penalized false, scandalous writings against the government, and the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, which declared the Sedition law null and void. The book also touches on the theme of the individual against government, with Jefferson championing freedom of press, speech, and scientific inquiry.
The Author’s Conclusions
The book concludes with the election of 1800, in which Republicans blamed Adams for the Alien and Sedition laws and Hamilton’s policies, while Federalists used weakened epithets of “Jacobins” and “Anarchists.” The narrative suggests that the partisan conflicts of the 1790s were rooted in fundamental disagreements about the nature of the American republic—whether it should be a commercial and industrial nation with a strong central government, or an agrarian republic of free farmers with limited federal power and strong protections for individual liberties. The book presents Paine’s pamphlet as part of this broader struggle, endorsed by Jefferson and widely read among Anti-Federalists, contributing to the formation of democratic societies and the opposition to Federalist policies. The author’s conclusion is that the early republic was shaped by these conflicts, and that the election of 1800 marked a turning point, with the Federalists’ use of the Alien and Sedition Acts and their foreign policy ultimately leading to their political decline.
Significance
The book’s significance lies in its detailed reconstruction of the political context in which Paine wrote his pamphlet, “To the Citizens of Pennsylvania on the Proposal for Calling a Convention.” By situating Paine’s work within the broader narrative of Federalist dominance, the rise of political parties, and the impact of the French Revolution, the book illuminates the stakes of the constitutional debates of the 1790s. The book demonstrates how Hamilton’s financial program—funding the debt, assuming state debts, creating a national bank, and enacting protective tariffs—catalyzed the formation of parties and provoked fierce opposition from those who feared a “money power” and the erosion of states’ rights. The book also shows how the French Revolution divided Americans, with Federalists denouncing critics as “Jacobins” and Anti-Federalists sympathizing with revolutionary ideals. The Alien and Sedition Acts and the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions are presented as pivotal moments in the struggle over federal power and individual liberties. The book’s significance also lies in its portrayal of the leadership of Hamilton and Jefferson, whose contrasting visions of the American republic—commercial versus agrarian, strong central government versus limited federal power, distrust versus faith in the people—shaped the political landscape of the early republic and continued to influence American politics long after.
