2 | George Washington good deal of dissension even in Washington’s era. At times these differences prompted the kind of virulent and harsh attacks more typically associated with con temporary politics. Not even Washington escaped unscathed from these clashes. Although Washington remained popular throughout his tenure as president, he faced significant criticism on several fronts, including claims that he was a failure as the commander of the U.S. Army during the American Revolution and that he tried to turn the country into a monarchy, to name just two. Ultimately, Washington found himself presiding over a nation that was increas- ingly partisan. Although he aspired to rise above the dissension between the Feder- alists and Republicans, Washington’s policies decidedly favored the Federalists, and not surprisingly this angered the opposition. The harshest criticism came from the most extreme Republicans and appeared in newspapers and pamphlets, but even moderate Republicans expressed a great deal of anger at Washington’s policies, even if they were not willing to engage in attacks on his character. By and large, however, Washington retained broad support throughout much of the country. It is somewhat ironic that the president who was so adamantly opposed to factions and political parties was also the first partisan president however, the dissension during his administration demonstrated the ability of the U.S. political system to accommodate political disagreement without violence and rebellion. WASHINGTON AND THE PARTISAN PRESS OF THE 18TH CENTURY Although contemporary presidents likely view the Washington years as a time of relative political comity, without the constant bombardment of the 24-hour news cycle on television and the Internet or the fear that the slightest misstep might be broadcast to millions of people almost instantaneously, 18th-century newspapers served up their fair share of attacks on public figures. Twenty-first-century Amer ica is still getting accustomed to a media that is more partisan than it had been for the latter half of the 20th century, but 18th-century newspapers were more parti- san yet. This was apparent during the debate over the ratification of the Constitu- tion, and it continued when Washington was president. Due to his popularity, Washington was not typically subject to personal attacks, but after he issued the Neutrality Proclamation in 1793 (which declared that the United States would remain neutral in the war between Great Britain and France), the Republican press editors were willing to directly target him in print. Although he remained civil in the face of such vitriol, he worried that the growing factionalism would undermine the legitimacy of the government. As it turned out, factionalism became the norm in American politics. During Washington’s presidency newspapers were generally subsidized by political parties, and their content reflected the views of that party. The Gazette of
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