The Development of Democracy, 1789-1801.—All the ten dencies of political institutions in the United States had been towards democracy ; but the leading men were not unanimous in their agreement with this tendency. Not a few of them were pro nounced republicans even before 1775, but the mass of them had no great objections to a monarchical form of government until the war spirit had converted them. The Declaration of Independence had been directed rather against the King than against a king. Even after popular sovereignty had pronounced against a king, class spirit was for some time a fair substitute for aristocracy. As often happens, democracy at least thought of a Caesar when it apprehended class control. Certain discontented officers of the Continental Army proposed to Washington that he become king, but he promptly and indignantly put the offer by.
The State constitutions were democratic, except for property or other restrictions on the right of suffrage, or provisions care fully designed to keep the control of at least one house of the State legislature "in the hands of property." The Federal Con stitution was so drawn that it would have lent itself kindly either to class control or to democracy. The electoral system of choosing the President and vice president was altogether anti democratic, though democracy has conquered it : not an elector, since 1796, has disobeyed the purely moral claim of his party to control his choice. Since the Senate was to be chosen by the State legislatures, "property," if it could retain its influence in those bodies, could control at least one house of Congress. Whether the Constitution was to have a democratic or an anti democratic interpretation was to be settled in the next 12 years.
Immigration.—The States were a strong factor in the final settlement, from the fact that the Constitution had left to them the control of the elective franchise : they were to make its conditions what each of them saw fit. Religious tests for the right of suffrage had been quite common in the Colonies ; prop erty tests were almost universal. The religious tests disappeared shortly after the War of Independence; the property tests sur vived in some of the States far into the constitutional period. But the desire to attract immigration was always a strong im pelling force to induce States, especially frontier States, to make the acquisition of full citizenship and political rights as easy and rapid as possible. This force was not so strong at first as it was after the great stream of immigration began about 1848, but it was enough to tend constantly to the development of democracy.
Organization of the New Government.—The Anti-Feder alists had been a political party, but a party with but one princi ple. The absolute failure of that principle deprived the party of all cohesion; and the Federalists controlled the first two Congresses almost entirely. Their pronounced ability was shown in their organizing measures, which still govern the American system very largely. The departments of State, of the Treasury, of War, of Justice and of the Post Office were rapidly and successfully organized; acts were passed for the regulation of seamen, com merce, tonnage duties, lighthouses, intercourse with the Indians, territories and the militia ; a national capital was selected ; a national bank was chartered; the national debt was funded, and the State debts were assumed as part of it. The first four years of the new system showed that the States had now to deal with a very different power from the impotent Congress of the Confederation. The new power was even able to exert pressure upon the two States which had not ratified the Constitution. As a first step, the higher duties imposed on imports from foreign countries were expressly directed to apply to imports from North Carolina and Rhode Island. North Carolina having called a second convention, her case was left to the course of nature; the second convention ratified the Constitution (Nov. 21, 1789). The Rhode Island legislature asked that their State might not be considered altogether foreigners, made their duties agree with those of the new government, and reserved the proceeds for "continental" purposes. Still no further steps were taken. A bill was therefore introduced, directing the President to suspend com mercial intercourse with Rhode Island, and to demand from her her share of the continental debt. This was passed by the Senate, and needed but two steps further to become law. Newspaper proposals to divide the little State between her two nearest neighbours were stopped by her ratification of the Constitution (May 29, 1790). The "old 13" were thus united under the Con stitution; and yet, so strong is the American prejudice for the autonomy of the States that these last two were allowed to enter in the full conviction that they did so in the exercise of sovereign freedom of choice.