America Gains Independence: Now What?.
Declaring independence from one nation raises lots of issues of concern for the newly formed nation. Many issues of commerce, the establishment of political parties, the local industry, respect from other countries, and protection and expansion of borders. These issues led to many other events some small feuds or treaties and some even led to military force within the domestically and internationally.
One of the most important issues that America needed to address was the establishment of political parties. During this time two parties were formed the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. The Federalists were the party of Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, and John Marshall. They were led by merchants, bankers, and lawyers living primarily in New England. They also favored a strong central government, interpreted the Constitution loosely, were pro- England, and believed in a government by the elite. This party passed the Alien and Sedition Act in 1798. The contrasting party, Democratic- Republicans, was the party of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. This party was led by planters, farmers, and wage earners living mainly n the south and west. The party was pro-France, believed in strong State governments, interpreted the Constitution very strictly, supported individual liberties, and believed in government by the educated masses.
The next most important issue is the protection and expansion of borders as well as gain respect from other countries. One of the first events that America faced was the Pinckney's Treaty of 1795. From this treaty Spain recognized the U.S. right to navigate on the Mississippi River, the boundary between Spanish Florida and the U.S. was set at the 31st parallel, and also Spain and the U.S. promised not to incite Indian attacks against each other. The next event America faced dealing with the aforementioned issues is the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts.
