A fifteen-minute recitation of portions of Washington's Farewell Address by actor William Shatner is available. Check the Educational Film & Video Locator. The larger issues of the early national period are treated by the Public Broadcasting System in its thirty-minute videotape The Republic in a Hostile World, a part of the American Adventure Series. It deals with British occupation in the Northwest, problems with France, and the Federalist administration.

PBS Video offers an interesting hour that deals, for the most part, with the career of the first president before his inauguration, in George Washington: The Man Who Wouldn't Be King. Other aspects of the Federalist administration are treated in The Adams Chronicles in two one-hour videotapes, John Adams: Vice President (1788-1796) and John Adams: President (1797-1801).
Document Set 7-1

REPUBLICAN WOMANHOOD: CITIZENSHIP IN A NEW NATION

1. Abigail and John Adams Exchange Sentiments on Women's Rights, 1776
2. Eliza Wilkinson Argues for an Expansion of the Feminine Sphere, 1782
3. Abigail Adams Instructs Her Son on Republican Virtue, 1783
4. Priscilla Mason Calls for Sexual Equality, 1793This unit is designed to move beyond the issue of women's agency in the Revolutionary context to the political consequences for women of separation from England. Students should explore these documents with a skeptical eye as they assess the impact of a successful revolution on the status of women, gender relations, and the roles assumed by women in the early national period.To frame this discussion, instructors will probably want to introduce the historiographical debate over the influence of the Revolution on women's drive for equality. Relying on the work of Linda Kerber, Mary Beth Norton, and Joan Hoff, they might summarize the arguments of those who stress the liberating effects of revolution and constitution-making, as well as those who see a decline in women's status following the Revolution. The result will be to underscore the ambiguous legacy of the Revolutionary experience.Once students have been briefed on the scholarly controversy surrounding women's experience in the Revolutionary and post-Revolutionary generations, they will be prepared to use the documents to build their own interpretations of the Revolution's impact. This topic lends itself to a debate format, which might be employed to test the arguments for and against the idea that meaningful change occurred.The concept of "Republican Motherhood" is important to understanding how gender relationships change. Classroom examination of the Constitution-making process will raise the central issue of citizenship in a republic. Instructors could ask students to search the documents for indications of active female citizenship, including its influence on the next generation's leadership. Students might be encouraged to think about the ways in which women's citizenship helps to define and explain the nature of all citizenship in the new nation and they should consider if Republican Motherhood limits or expands women's roles, and what types of women are excluded from the concept.Most students will recognize in the documents substantial evidence of an undercurrent of dissatisfaction with the feminine sphere. Instructors might encourage them to use the documents to interpret the ways in which hierarchy was established, enforced, and maintained in the early national period. Discussion could focus on the female reaction to the confines of Republican Motherhood, including the assertion of claims to a more comprehensive citizenship role and enhanced status. A provocative entry into this analysis would be to ask why women were excluded from conventional politics. Confrontation of this issue could open up a thorough examination of the doctrine of "separate spheres" and its origins.In sum, this unit is intended to promote a general examination and evaluation of the Revolution's impact on women's experiences, status, and roles. Instructors are encouraged to refer to Elizabeth Fox-Genovese et al., Restoring Women to History: Materials for U.S. I (see Recommended Readings), which provides full treatment of the relevant issues.

Recommended Readings for Document Set 7-1


Nancy Cott. The Bonds of Womanhood: Woman's Sphere in New England, 1780-1835 (1977).

Linda Grant DePauw. Founding Mothers: Women of America in the Revolutionary Era (1975).

Linda Grant DePauw "The American Revolution and the Rights of Women: The Feminist Theory of Abigail Adams," in Larry R. Gerlach et al., eds., Legacies of the American Revolution (1978).

Elizabeth Fox-Genovese. Restoring Women to History: Materials for U.S. I (1984).

Edith Belle Gelles. Portia: The World of Abigail Adams (1922).

Joan Hoff-Wilson. "The Illusion of Change: Women and the American Revolution," in Alfred Young, ed., The American Revolution: Explorations in the History of American Radicalism (1976).

Ronald Hoffman and Peter J. Albert, eds. Women in the Age of the American Revolution (1989).

Susan Juster. Disorderly Women: Sexual Politics and Evangelicalism in Revolutionary New England (1994).

Linda K. Kerber. Women of the Republic: Intellect and Ideology in Revolutionary America (1980).

Mary Beth Norton. Liberty's Daughters: The Revolutionary Experience of American Women (1980).

Jacqueline S. Reiner. "Rearing the Republican Child: Attitudes and Practices in Post-Revolutionary Philadelphia." William and Mary Quarterly 39 (January 1982): 150-163.
Audiovisual Resources for Document Set 7-1


The Revolution and Republican Motherhood (audiotape--30 min.). Audiotape Program 5, Legacies Series. Annenberg/CPB Project, 1111 16th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036.
Document Set 7-2

Economic Conflict: Alexander Hamilton's Financial Program and Thomas Jefferson's Opposition

1. Hamilton's Funding and Assumption Programs, 1790
2. Jefferson's Rejection of the Funding Program, 1790These documents focus on national economic realities and their relationship to politics. They have instructional potential because, dealing with the first political economy under the new constitution, they emphasize the creativity of political leaders in the Federalist era. Students are engaged in analysis of new beginnings. An analogy between the life of a new nation and a maturing individual may help students recognize the importance of the social and political levels of human existence. Nations, like individuals, borrow, establish good credit ratings, practice debt management, and cultivate monetary and fiscal policies.Hamilton's advocacy of funding and assumption and Jefferson's opposition should provoke discussion. Students' analysis of the respective arguments may be deepened if they are challenged to confront Hamilton's and Jefferson's underlying economic and political views. Among the issues raised by the documents are: debt/revenue-based financing, centralism/state-rights, loose/strict construction, nationalism/sectionalism, mercantilist/laissez-faire economics, and the moral question of contract/ quick profit. These bipolar tensions persist over time in different historical settings and therefore merit serious attention as complex threads running through the American experience to the present.Jefferson was filled with righteous indignation over Hamilton's proposal to fund the confederation debt in full and at par. He interpreted the proposal as a corrupt scheme that would permit undeserving speculators to reap large, unwarranted profits. Hamilton, while not denying Jefferson's claim, held that failure to honor the debt would be an unjust breach of contract; not only was there a moral obligation to pay the debt, but such a policy seemed clearly to serve the national economic interest. This disagreement is evident in the documents and should stimulate debate.Students might also examine Hamilton's overall national economic policy and the controversy surrounding it, so that they may understand its significance to early American history and see how funding and assumption fit into his larger scheme. Students or study groups could be assigned to research and analyze the basic content of the Report on a National Bank or the Report on Manufacturing as background for classroom discussion.

Recommended Readings for Document Set 7-2


Joyce Appleby. Capitalism and a New Social Order: The Republican Vision of the 1790s (1984).

Lance Banning. The Jefferson Persuasion: Evolution of Party Ideology (1980).

Jacob E. Cooke. Alexander Hamilton (1982).

Noble Cunningham. The Jeffersonian Republicans: The Formation of Party Organization, 1789-1801 (1957).

Drew R. McCoy. The Elusive Republic: Political Economy in Jeffersonian America (1980).

Forrest McDonald. Alexander Hamilton: A Biography (1979).

Merrill D. Peterson. Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation: A Biography (1970).

James Roger Sharp. American Politics in the Early Republic: The New Nation in Crisis (1993).

Herbert Sloan. Thomas Jefferson and the Problem of Debt (1995).

Gerald Stourzh. Alexander Hamilton and the Idea of Republican Government (1970).

John B. Zuesper. Political Philosophy and Rhetoric: A Study of the Origins of American Party Politics (1977).
Audiovisual Resources for Document Set 7-2


Alexander Hamilton (film--18 min.). Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational Corporation, 425 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Ill. 60611.

George Washington: The Man Who Wouldn't Be King, from The American Experience series (videotape--90 min.). PBS Video, 1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, Va. 22314-1698.

Inventing a Nation (film, videotape--52 min.). Episode 4, America Series. Time-Life Films, 110 Eisenhower Drive, P.O. Box 644, Paramus, N.J. 07652.

Thomas Jefferson (videotape, two parts--180 min.). PBS Video, 1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, Va. 22314-1698..
Document Set 7-3

Political Conflict: The Alien and Sedition Acts and The Kentucky and Virginia resolutions

1. Alien Act, 1798
2. Alien Enemies Act, 1798
3. Sedition Act, 1798
4. Kentucky Resolutions, 1798
5. Virginia Resolutions, 1798The documents provide an opportunity to focus on the political realities of the late eighteenth century. Instructors might present additional context and depth for students by exploring with them the international scene of the 1790s and the American domestic scene with its developing political factionalism. The additional background should reveal the complex historical context for the political conflict over the Alien and Sedition Acts and encourage reflection on the important interrelationship between foreign and domestic affairs in the life of the new nation.Beyond simple identification of the provisions of the Alien and Sedition Acts and the reasons Jefferson and Madison objected to them, discussion might center on the respective motives for and against the legislation. Why did the Federalists really want such laws? Were they concerned about national security and protection from French interference in American affairs or were they attempting to suppress their political opponents in a struggle for control of the national government? Were Jefferson, Madison, and their supporters really committed to upholding Enlightenment ideals such as civil rights and constitutionalism, or did their actions reflect a pro-French bias? The documents do not provide answers to these questions, but speculation can awaken the historical imagination.In their opposition to the legislation, Jefferson and Madison raised several important political questions that remain alive today and warrant special attention. Among the more important issues are the tension between freedom of expression and government censorship (particularly in the context of external threat to the security of the state), the conflict between states' rights and centralism, and the debate over the nature of the union. Students should be able to identify some of these problems and grapple with their meaning and relevance for the 1790s, other historical periods, and the present. Instructors might employ small group discussions or individual writing assignments on one or more of the issues to encourage critical analysis.

Recommended Readings for Document Set 7-3


Lance Banning. The Jeffersonian Persuasion: Evolution of a Party Ideology (1978).

Richard Buel, Jr. Securing the Revolution: Ideology in American Politics, 1789-1815 (1972).

Noble E. Cunningham, Jr. The Jeffersonian Republicans: The Formation of a Party Organization, 1789-1801 (1957).

Alexander De Conde. The Quasi-War: Politics and Diplomacy of the Undeclared War with France, 1797-1801 (1966).

Leonard Levy. Legacy of Suppression: Freedom of Speech and Press in Early American History (1985).

John C. Miller. Crisis in Freedom: The Alien and Sedition Acts (1951; rep. 1964).

Andrew W. Robertson. The Language of Democracy: Politics and Rhetoric in the United States and Britain, 1790-1800 (1995).

Marshall Smesler. "George Washington and the Alien and Sedition Laws," American Historical Review 59 (1954): 322-334.

James Morton Smith. Freedom's Fetters: The Alien and Sedition Acts and American Civil Liberties (1956).

Donald H. Stewart. The Opposition Press of the Federalist Period (1969).
Audiovisual Resources for Document Set 7-3


John Adams, President (1797-1801). The Adams Chronicles Series (videotape--59 min.). Indiana University, Audio-visual Center, Bloomington, Ind. 47405.

Thomas Jefferson (videotape, two parts--180 min.). PBS Video, 1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, Va. 22314-1698.