Chapter 18: The 28 year “Virginia Dynasty” hands power over to the Anti-Federalists.

When Washington leaves office, his mediating powers go with him, and the partisan conflicts he feared begin to intensify.

His successor is former Vice President, John Adams, a committed Federalist, but one who lacks the flexibility and personal style to reach accommodations with his rivals, especially Jefferson. In an effort to avoid a war with France, Adams’ attempts to crack down on internal political dissent fire up the Anti-Federalist opposition, and he loses his re-election bid in 1800.

Adams’ defeat ushers in the twenty-four year reign of the Anti-Federalists under the “Virginia Dynasty” beginning with Thomas Jefferson (1801-09) and James Madison (1809-1817). By 1803 they have secured dominance in both chambers of Congress:

Division of Power in Congress: 1797 to 1815

As plantation owners, they favor an agrarian economy and a central government with limited power vis a vis the “sovereign” states.

Jefferson avoids war with Napoleon, acquires 800,000 square miles of new territory in his Louisiana Purchase, but then institutes a Trade Embargo policy that irritates Britain and seriously damages the U.S. economy.

Madison’s term is dominated by the War of 1812 which ends with General Andrew Jackson’s victory at New Orleans and a financial crisis related to military costs and speculation.