For those that always bitch about the past being better

[John Adams]

The two men also traded blows in the press, with Jefferson drafting surrogates to attack Hamilton, while the latter responded with his own anonymous essays. When Hamilton published a vigorous defense of Washington's neutrality proclamation in 1793, Jefferson urged Madison to thrash the treasury secretary in the press. "For God's sake, my dear Sir, take up your pen, select the most striking heresies, and cut him to pieces in the face of the public." When Madison rose to the challenge, he sneered in print that the only people who could read Hamilton's essays with pleasure were "foreigners and degenerate citizens among us."

 

Another persistent Washington nemesis was Benjamin Franklin Bache, grandson of Benjamin Franklin, and nicknamed "Lightning Rod, Jr." for his scurrilous pen. In his opposition newspaper, the Aurora, Bache questioned Washington's loyalty to the country. "I ask you, sir, to point out one single act which unequivocally proves you a FRIEND TO THE INDEPENDENCE OF AMERICA." Resurrecting wartime forgeries fabricated by the British, he raised the question of whether Washington had been bribed by the Crown or even served as a double agent.

 

 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405...DNewsCollection

[Dave_In_Norfolk]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405...DNewsCollection

+1

 

I'm reading a book on this very topic now, 'The Rise of American Democracy from Jefferson to Lincoln," by Sean Wilentz, and what really surprises me is how normal and common were for arguments to be so openly class based, rich vs. poor, etc. With the French Revolution broiling in the background and feeding the frenzy of class warfare, it really scared people. And it was all so new. When during the Washington Administration an "interest group" sprang up to publicize a greater pro-democracy point of view, Washington and company were terrified of it, not knowing what to make of something we take for granted today.

 

And yes, the level of vitriol and heated rhetoric was intense. So John Adams, why did you sign those Sedition acts into law?

[/dev/null]

So John Adams, why did you sign those Sedition acts into law?

 

Because if he didn't, the Terrorists would win and Unemployment would go above 8%

[Nanker]

Yes, bring back the good old days. History records who was on the right side.