It's interesting to note the Democratic-Republican Societies were immediately opposed by the statists of the time, but sprang from the Son's of Liberty and the forces that expelled the unwanted British authority without a shot.
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Democratic-Republican Societies were local political organizations formed in the United States in 1793-94 to promote republicanism and democracy and to fight aristocratic tendencies. Historians use the term "Democratic-Republican" to describe the societies, but the societies rarely ever used the name
"Democratic-Republican." They called themselves "Democratic,"
"Republican," "True Republican," "Constitutional," "United Freeman,"
"Patriotic," "Political," "Franklin," and "Madisonian."[1]
The Germans of Philadelphia began the first society in April 1793, inspired by Peter Muhlenberg. Philadelphia was then the national capital and soon an English-speaking society was formed in the city by David Rittenhouse, Charles Biddle (a prominent Quaker merchant), Dr. George Logan and Alexander J. Dallas. Its charter was widely copied. At least 35 societies sprang up by 1795, located in most important American cities. Many leaders soon became
active in Jefferson's Democratic-Republican Party, a national political party he founded. As foreign affairs became
dominant issues of the day, members of such groups opposed the British
and rallied behind Jefferson, proclaiming their friendship with France.
Contents
* 1 Activities
* 2 Grievances
* 3 Doctrines
* 3.1 Pennsylvania frontier and Whiskey Rebellion
* 4 Decline
* 5 References
Activities
The societies usually met once a month, or more often during election season. Applicants for membership had to have five members attest to
their "firm and steadfast friend of EQUAL RIGHTS OF MAN" and a couple
members could blackball an applicant. "Apostasy from Republican
principles" was ground for expulsion. Officers were rotated regularly—in one case every month.
The societies politicked in local elections officially or quietly.
They often joined parades and celebrations of July Fourth, and were
credited in 1794 with having made that day "more universally celebrated" than it had been. They also celebrated July 14—French Bastille Day.
Some societies engaged in direct action to help France in her war with
Britain, such as equipping French privateers.
Endless discussions and rounds of resolutions fill the minute books;
most common were general addresses and resolutions critical of the
Washington administration. In western states, members of the societies
agitated against the British for holding the frontier posts and against
the Spanish for closing the Mississippi River; in the East, they
denounced Britain for "piracy" against American shipping. In the
Carolinas they demanded a uniform currency and adequate representation
for the growing back country. The societies strongly protested the
excise tax on whiskey. They denounced John Jay as special envoy to
London and vehemently repudiated the treaty he brought back. They complained about secret sessions of Congress and the state
legislatures, demanding that public officials abandon the use of "dark,
intricate, antiquated formalities" and "obsolete phraseology" that only
lawyers and classical scholars could understand.[2]
Grievances
The societies viewed excessive power as the enemy of liberty and were weary of the undue, corrupt accumulation of power in the central
government. The Society of Newcastle, Delaware said, "If we consult the
lamentable annals of mankind, and cast our eyes back over the historic
page we shall find this solemn truth recorded in large characters; that
all governments however free in their origin, have in the end
degenerated into despotism." These societies adhered to Jeffersonian
thought and believed the infant nation was fragile and needed careful
protection by a vigilant population. The societies feared that
Hamilton’s financial policies edged too close to English aristocracy;
they saw the policies as “prescriptions of Aristocracy, under the masque of Federalism.” They opposed the growing class of commercial elites and speculators. One society in NYC said they had “less respect to the
consuming speculator, who wallows in luxury, than to the productive
mechanic who struggles with indigence.” The societies grieved a lack of
virtue and patriotism in the 1790s. They viewed "jealousy" and suspicion of the government not as protest, but as the duty of a virtuous,
vigilant citizen to maintain the republic. Tunis Wortman, secretary of
the Democratic Society of New York stated, “It is a truth too evident to be disguised, that since the completion and final establishment of our
revolution, the flame of liberty has burned less bright, and become less universal in its operation. The charms of wealth, the allurements of
luxury, the thirst for gain and the ruinous system of speculation, have
borne down like the irresistible flood upon us, and have threatened
destruction to the most valuable elements of social life:-the desire of
affluence and the love of ease, have absorbed every honorable and
patriotic consideration; have rendered us supine and indolent, and have
nearly banished from our minds the sentiment of public virtue, destroyed the ardor of liberty, and diminished our attachment to the sacred
interests of our country.”[3]
Doctrines
The societies preached equal justice and a general diffusion of
knowledge as essential "pillars supporting the sacred temple of
liberty." A primary purpose of the societies was to disseminate
political information, as members believed ignorance was the greatest
threat to democracy. They worked closely with republican newspaper
editors, publishing numerous letters, editorials and essays.
"To support and perpetuate the EQUAL RIGHTS OF MAN" was the New York
society's "great object," and toward that end they would "constantly
express our sentiments." The "Equal Rights of Man" meant to them the
right to freedoms of speech, press, and assembly; the right to criticize governmental representatives and to demand an explanation of their
public acts; and the right to publish their reactions in a free press.[4]
Born from the grassroots organization of the Sons of Liberty, the
societies challenged existing notions of the social and political
hierarchy. The societies united disparate groups of people from
different classes. Usually lower and middle classes, made up of farmers, artisans, mechanics, and common laborers were led by richer merchants,
local politicians, militia captains, naval officers, doctors, lawyers,
and printers. Their persistence of egalitarian and republican thought
revolutionized ideas about liberty through the Jacksonian era and
beyond.[3]
The members often included dissenting teachers and theologians
striving to create a more progressive, humanitarian, and enlightened
society. Their ideas were also influenced by classical and modern
republicanism, particularly the works of Aristotle and Machiavelli, and
by the 'Common Sense' philosophy of the Scottish Enlightenment. This
philosophy led the societies to oppose many of the Federalist Party
policies. The societies advocated both a system of publicly funded and
locally controlled education for all classes and a broadening of the
franchise. Standing to Jefferson's ideological left, they advocated a
much more democratic political agenda than he supported, including
attempts to create a permanent organization of popular dissent directed
against the federal government and an educational philosophy based on a
dialectical and democratic approach to learning.[5]
Pennsylvania frontier and Whiskey Rebellion
Most societies were urban but three formed on Pennsylvania's western
frontier, the Democratic Republican Society of the County of Washington, the Society of United Freemen of Mingo Creek, and the Republican
Society at the Mouth of the Youghiogheny. Members dreamed of a yeoman
farmer empire and thought that western farmers were exploited by wealthy easterners, particularly merchants and land speculators. They demanded
justice and were careful not to address with deference those who
possessed wealth and power. They considered the whiskey tax inspector John Neville, a reasonably wealthy man, as an agent of their eastern enemies. James
McFarlane, chairman of the Society of United Freemen, was killed while
trying to force Neville's resignation, an event that triggered the Whiskey Rebellion.[6]
Decline
The Federalists opposed such groups, saying they had been started by Citizen Genêt as a tool of the revolutionary government in Paris. Members responded by claiming they were inspired by the Sons of Liberty, the Whig Clubs and other republican groups of the 1770s. President
Washington vehemently denounced the societies in late 1794, following
his successful quelling of the Whiskey Rebellion. Washington complained
that the Democratic-Republican societies in western Pennsylvania had
helped instigate the revolt and thus were enemies of the new government
and nation.[6] By 1796, most of the groups had disbanded.
As educational organizations, they had some influence. They believed
that a republican nation required citizens to act together to deal with
social problems at the grass roots. The mobilized citizenry was
essential to defeat aristocracy (which they identified with Alexander Hamilton). In opposing rule by the few, they helped define what rule by the many might be.