Description: The Federalists left a paradoxical legacy. They successfully established the domestic and international legitimacy of the new American government, brought order to the nation's finances, and encouraged western development. Yet they were swept out of national power by the Jefferson revolution in 1800, and they stubbornly refused to adjust to the emerging democratic politics. The essays in this volume demonstrate that American political culture was fashioned in a dialogue between Federalists and Jeffersonians. They portray an active Federalist coalition that offered a vibrant intellectual and political alternative throughout the era of the early republic. Cutting across boundaries of region, culture, race, gender, and class, Federalists struggled with the problems of nation building, national identity, and economic development.

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