Question

What was the “Revolution of 1800”? In what ways did the Republican plans for the federal government differ from the Federalist agenda? How did Jefferson set about reversing Federalism and why did he do it? How and why did he pursue his vision of an “agricultural republic,” and what role did the “yeoman farmer” play in this vision?

Answer 1

In the "Revolution of 1800", then Vice President Thomas Jefferson of the Democratic-Republican Party defeated the incumbent President John Adams of the Federalist Party. The election was a political realignment that ushered in a generation of Democratic-Republican leadership.

James Madison and Thomas Jefferson founded the Democratic Republican party in opposition to the Federalists. They believed that the federal government had overstepped its authority when it adopted the plan proposed by Hamilton which they considered to be immoral and offensive. They believed that the new taxation plan turned the reins of government over to the class of speculators who profited at the expense of hardworking citizens. Madison and Jefferson formed the Democratic -Republican societies, composed of men who felt the domestic policies of the Washington administration were designed to enrich the few while ignoring everyone else.

Thomas Jefferson's primary aim as president was the promotion of political democracy and the physical expansion of the country to provide land for a nation of citizen -farmers. His ideal citizen was a yeoman, or a farmer who owned and lived off his own land, rather than one who relied on wages from an employer.According to him,American yeomen would own their own land, they could stand up against those who might try to buy their votes with promises of property.

Thomas Jefferson believed that political democracy only could flow from an economically independent citizenry and sought to weaken the influence of the executive branch to counter the increasing concentration of power. He reversed the policies of the Federalist party by turning away from urban commercial development and promoted agriculture through the sale of western public lands in small and affordable lots.