Founded during the first half of the 1790s, Democratic-Republican societies were the first grassroots organizations to oppose President George Washington. The societies broadened political participation by attracting men from the lower and middle classes to political action, thus precipitating a debate about the legitimacy of such organized opposition to the government.
In May 1793 a group Philadelphians founded the first and most prominent Democratic-Republican club. By the end of 1794, there were 42 known clubs. Societies were located in urban centers and the backcountry, and membership ranged from a handful to several hundred. While most leaders of these organizations were prominent men in the community, many societies were led by less prosperous and more humble men. Thus the Democratic-Republican societies attracted men of diverse status and, as a result, helped to broaden the scope of political participation in the early republic.
Originally founded as debating societies whose purpose was discussion and dissemination of information, the clubs soon became overtly political. Their immediate models were the Sons oe Liberty and committees oe correspondence. Indeed, several members had been active in these organizations. In addition, Democratic-Republican societies found a degree of inspiration from the French Revolu-
TION (1789-99) and the Jacobin Clubs of France. Members ofthe Democratic-Republican societies saw the French Revolution as a continuation of the American Revolution, believing it their duty, and that of the U. S. government, to support their brother republicans across the Atlantic Ocean. Nevertheless the societies cannot be characterized as tools of the French. Although Edmond Genet did suggest including “democratic” in the name for the Philadelphia society, he did not have undue influence over it or any other society.
In addition to being concerned about U. S. policy toward France and Great Britain, the Democratic-Republican societies were troubled by the consolidating impact of Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton’s financial schemes—assumption, full funding, national bank, manufactures, and excise tax. Members believed that the Washington administration had betrayed the American Revolution, and that, to combat such a betrayal, citizens needed to examine the conduct of all government officers, including Washington. Only a vigilant and virtuous citizenry could save the republican experiment, and the societies hoped to fulfill this purpose.
By 1796 almost all of the societies had disappeared. There are several reasons their decline was almost as fast as their ascent. First, as the French Revolution deteriorated into the Reign of Terror and the war between Great Britain and France intensified, more people in the United States feared rather than celebrated the events in Europe. Hence, Democratic-Republicans Societies lost support. Second, and more importantly, in November 1794 Washington denounced the societies for what he believed was their role in the Whiskey Rebellion (1794). Despite efforts by individual societies outside of western Pennsylvania to distance themselves from the rebels, the societies could not recover from Washington’s public condemnation and challenge to their legitimacy. Significantly, Washington’s comments precipitated a debate within the House of Representatives about whether to officially agree with him. Although Democratic-Republican Party leaders James Madison and Thomas Jeeeerson never condoned the societies, they were not ready to denounce them either. The Democratic-Republican societies constituted one step in the growing acceptance of the legitimacy of a vocal opposition to the sitting administration.
Further reading: Eugene Perry Link, Democratic-Republican Societies, 1790-1800 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1942).
Dickinson, John (1732-1808) pamphleteer, essayist, politician
A conservative revolutionary leader, John Dickinson was born on November 8, 1732, in Maryland. He studied in
London, practiced law in Philadelphia, and served in the legislatures of both Delaware and Pennsylvania where he lived most of his life. Dickinson opposed the Sugar Act (1764) and Stamp Act (1765), writing a pamphlet that advocated enlisting the support of British merchants to aid the colonies. In recognition of his vocal position, Pennsylvania sent him to the Stamp Act Congress in 1765. He objected to the use of force during the resistance movement (1764-75).
Sometimes called the “penman of the revolution,” Dickinson gained great fame for writing a series of essays that were later published as a pamphlet titled Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania to the Inhabitants of the British Colonies (1768) in opposition to the Townshend Duties (1767). Although Dickinson was not really from Pennsylvania nor a farmer, his “letters” demonstrated a broad command of English history and the legal principles underpinning Anglo-American notions of liberty to express a fear of corruption and a necessity to resist arbitrary law. He still fell short of calling for force, although he implied that it might someday become necessary. He remained active in politics in the early 1770s in Pennsylvania but lost some influence in 1774 when he hesitated to support the radical measures that followed the Coercive Acts (1774). He believed that New Englanders had acted rashly in the Boston Tea Party (December 16, 1773), and he was afraid of taking any step that might prevent reconciliation.
Dickinson became a member of the First Continental Congress in late 1774 and led the movement to petition the king for a peaceful resolution to the crisis. Also a member of the Second Continental Congress, he continued to seek reconciliation with the king while simultaneously joining in the preparations for war. He pursued the same policies in 1776 and even voted against the Declaration oe Independence (July 4, 1776). During the war, however, he served for a time in the military fighting the British, was elected to Congress from Delaware in 1779, and became the chief executive officer first in Delaware in 1781, and, later, in Pennsylvania. He founded Dickinson College in 1783. He advocated the creation of a stronger national government in the late 1780s; was president of the Annapolis Convention; was a delegate for Delaware at the Constitutional Convention, where he took an active role in its debates to draw up a new United States Constitution; and wrote several essays, signed “Fabius,” strongly supporting its adoption. Thereafter, he retired from public life and died on February 14, 1808.
Further reading: Milton Embick Flower, John Dickinson: Conservative Revolutionary (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1983).
World History
