Introduction
The mid to later eighteenth century was one era in American history that saw the representations of various writers on the visions that they had of the country. It is a period that was characterized by several written visions from different people who that expressed the dreams that they harbored for the country. These writers conveyed the kind of idea that they had for the American nation through these writings contributing to a literary history that was comprised of contested visions of some important aspects of their country such as the constitution. These writers comprised mainly of federalist and antifederalists. Federalists were those that were in support of the newly constitution while antifederalists were those that opposed the constitution during the debates for ratification.
Historical and political background
America had just gained independence following the colonization by Britain in the American revolutionary war. The war was as s result of conflicts between Britain and some of its colonists in the American territories following the financial costs incurred during the Anglo-French battles. In addition, the stamp and trade acts that were imposed on the American colonies by Britain led to increased tension.
Before this, Britain had imposed taxes as trade duties but instead had decided to levy direct taxes through the stamp act. The act had been intended to fund the westward expansion which the colonies were against. This led to a boycott of all British goods that were being brought from Britain in to the colonies. Britain also experienced protests from the merchants whose exported goods had been taxed and then boycotted to in the American colonies.
The war was the height of the American Revolution rejecting any form of governing by the British on the claims that British colonization was a violation of the rights of Englishmen. Following the revolutionary war, the lawlessness coupled with ruthless economic and social realism that followed the war made the envisaged peaceful confederation not a reality. Most Americans were heavily in debt and were not able to repay their debts with most of them heading to prison as they were not in a position to repay their creditors.
Most of these Americans staged massive riots in many areas as they put up resistance on their creditors to avoid payment of their debts. The ensuing constitutional debates led to several writers putting forward their opinions on what they envisioned on their country. The articles of confederation affirmed the formation of a solid league of friendship between the thirteen states on their fear on the development of a centralized government (Federalist and Anti-Federalist Contentions). The confederation resulted in a weak congress that had very limited powers. The argument raised by the confederation was that a centralized government would be not in the best interests of the United States.
The riots led to the calls for a centralized government which led to the federal convention in Philadelphia which resulted in the creation of a constitution following debates on the ratification of the same. These debates saw those in favor of ratification as well as those against ratification write papers that aired their views on the constitution giving the reasons as to why they supported or declined the creation of a constitution. In the end, the ratification of the constitution in all of the thirteen states saw the federalist papers included in the literary history of America as important pieces of writings.
Contested idea of America
The writers of this period all had different visions of the kind of America that they wanted. They were either federalists or antifederalists depending on the side that they were in during the ratification debates. Some of the famous federalists included James Madison and Alexander Hamilton whose writings are contained in the Publius. The anti federalists were represented by the likes of Agrippa XVII. These writers had differing ideas on the manner in which they wanted the American nation to look like.
Thomas Jefferson, who was one of the prominent federalists, was of the opinion of the creation of a government for the American nation that would be structured into a judiciary, the legislature, and the executive with each of them having their separate powers. He was in support of the bill of rights that endows all citizens with various rights and freedoms such as the restriction against monopolies, freedom of religion, the safeguarding against standing armies, and the freedom of expression (Letter to James Madison). It would also ensure that people would be aware of their rights as well as possess civil and political freedom (Anti-Federalist Paper).
He was also of the opinion that the lack of rotation in some of the key offices such as that of the president is not a good idea (Letter to James Madison). This was because it would lead to the single candidate elected being the only person to occupy that post leading to the creation of ties that would not be in the best interests of the nation. Instead, the was need of elections that would be held following the passage of a number of years which would grant the people the power to re-elect the current president or vote in a new one.
He goes on to support the taking of an oath of office by the various persons serving within the three arms of the government so as ton ensure that the constitution was well upheld. He states that the will of the majority should prevail and thus it would have been wise to rewrite the constitution so as to add any corrections that had been made to the newly formed constitution. In addition, he argues that future amendments to the constitution that would be okay in the event that the people find some fault in its workings.
It is clear from this letter that France at the time had its own constitution and government and thus was ahead of the newly independent American nation. Jefferson was giving his views to Madison on the constitution that had been enacted in America based on the current situation that prevailed in France citing some of the problems that France had undergone and how to cope with them in the event that they arose in the newly formed nation. It also shows of some of the contentious issues that were being debated by the federalists and the anti federalists. Jefferson was later to be the United States president for two terms from 1801 to1809 (Thomas Jefferson).
Alexander Hamilton presented the kind of nation that would exist in the event that the states would lack unity amongst themselves. The creation of hostility would be the result of such causes as the love for power and private passions that would lead to rivalry as was noticed between two competing trading nations. Such leaders who have such ambitions would abuse the confidence that had been vested in them by the people that they lead sacrificing the harmony in a country for their own personal satisfaction.
Conversely, he presented that there were leaders who were visionary and thus would promote the peaceful existence of all the states even though they were not similar to each other in any manner. These leaders would ensure that the nation would be united and stand strong as they would lead through mutual interest and in the process nurture unity and peace given that the country was a commercial one. It would also prevent neighboring states from being enemies which was a natural enemy of any nation.
The article portrays the social as well as cultural nature of the American society that believed in peaceful coexistence and thus was against any kind of leader that would serve to break that peace. It also indicates of the important responsibilities that were vested in leaders and thus was showing the dislike in any leader that would lead to the creation of enmity within the society and the nation instead of peace.
James Madison views faction as one of the causes that lead to the breakdown of unity in a nation. Faction leads to injustices and instability within a country due to an overbearing majority in a country that may disregard the overall public good. Such a scenario would arise due to the conflicts that thrive between rival parties with major decisions made on the self interest of the stronger faction. In his views, there is no democracy which suffers the misdemeanors caused by factions is long lived. The remedy to such offenses is the creation of a republic with a government that allows representation of all to take place (Federalist No. 10). The advantages of a republic would be the same both in a big and small nation.
These views indicate the kind of political visions that the Madison had which reveal the bigger picture of the kind of political structure that Americans would have wanted to have. Through Madison’s views, we are able to know that the existence of differing political factions would lead disunity that would be an impediment in the growth of any nation. It was thus necessary that the nation adopted a republican form of government that would allow representation of all of its citizens.
Works cited
Anti-Federalist Paper
http://www.infoplease.com/t/hist/antifederalist/agrippa18.html
Federalist and Anti-Federalist Contentions:
http://college.cengage.com/english/lauter/heath/4e/students/author_pages/eighteen th/federalistandantifederalist.html
Federalist No. 6.
http://www.constitution.org/fed/federa06.htm
Federalist No. 10
http://www.constitution.org/fed/federa10.htm
Letter to James Madison, Dec. 20, 1787 http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=306
Thomas Jefferson:
http://college.cengage.com/english/lauter/heath/4e/students/author_pages/eighteen th/jefferson_th.html
