Selling Democracy to the Masses (Empire of Liberty #7)

You can't supply something unless their is a real or artificial demand.

The seal adopted for use by Thomas Jefferson, Virginia politician and later President of the United States, in 1790. The seal bears Jefferson's initials and the motto: "Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God." The seal first appeared on a letter from Jefferson to Dr. Richard Gem on April 4, 1790, and Jefferson continued to use the seal for most purposes for the rest of his life. Image courtesy of The American Herald, No. 3 (2008). Public Domain.

Despite all of the nations brutal flaws, the democratization of political thought and civic life is inherently American. The Constitution itself emerged from concerns over growing democratization within the states, which had experienced a war fought over the very idea of self-governance. As defenders of this new governing document, the Federalists internalized their fear of “middling' groups” and what they perceived as unsophisticated Americans having a say in the complex arts of governance — something they felt was not suited for casual and untrained minds.

Thomas Jefferson, both an idealist and a sheltered populist, was energized by the excitement of crafting a new government, witnessing revolutions abroad, and imagining the possibility of transforming the entire world. His ideology coalesced around rebuking Federalist attempts to centralize and legitimize the federal government while naively idealizing the capacity of common people to maintain their own subsistence farms outside of market forces. Yet this romantic vision was refined and compromised as Jefferson maintained wealth from the backbreaking labor of his inherited slaves and indulged in other excesses sustained by their exploitation.

The silver-tongued aristocrat of Monticello became the perfect poster boy for the demagogic advantages of selling democracy to the masses as a straightforward appeal to their base desires in exchange for their loyalty. Whether Jefferson genuinely believed in reshaping governance to install decentralized democracy, or whether he was a cynical opportunist, is difficult to determine.

Like most realities, the truth is likely somewhere in the middle.

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Democratic Impulses

The battle for America's political identity in the Early Republic was deeply intertwined with the press. Criticism of Alexander Hamilton’s financial policies led John Fenno to establish the Gazette of the United States in 1789, intending for it to serve as the official paper of the national government.

Jefferson viewed the Gazette as “a paper of pure Toryism, disseminating the doctrines of monarchy, aristocracy, and the exclusion of the influence of the people.” To counter the Federalist narrative, Jefferson and Madison recruited the poet Philip Freneau to launch the National Gazette in October 1791. By early 1792, Freneau’s paper was already accusing Hamilton of plotting to undermine liberty and establish aristocracy and monarchy in America. Ironically, these attacks came from a political faction deeply enmeshed with the institution of slavery.

Wood writes:

“Freneau and his newspaper were effectively altering the terms of the national debate. He portrayed the political conflict not as a contest between Federalists and Anti-Federalists but as a struggle between monarchists or aristocrats on one side and republicans on the other... Freneau’s National Gazette could now openly declare that ‘the question in America is no longer between federalism and anti-federalism, but between republicanism and anti-republicanism.’”

The anonymous and pseudonymous nature of most press writings heightened the vitriol. When the National Gazette attacked the Federalist government for promoting monarchy and aristocracy, Hamilton retaliated in Fenno’s Gazette of the United States, branding Jefferson an “intriguing incendiary” plotting to destroy the Constitution and undermine national authority.

Jefferson’s manipulation of the press was calculated and effective. By covertly supporting publications like the National Gazette and later the Aurora, Jefferson used the press as a propaganda tool to brand Federalists as anti-democratic elitists. This was not merely a clash of ideas but a battle to seize control of the national narrative — one where Jefferson successfully positioned himself as the champion of republicanism and popular democracy.

The Election of 1800

Jefferson famously described the election of 1800 as “the Revolution of 1800,” a political shift he believed was as momentous in principle as the revolution of 1776 had been in form. But the journey to that 'revolution' was marked by anxiety and intense political maneuvering.

The election ended in a deadlock, with Aaron Burr receiving the same number of electoral votes as Jefferson despite being the Republican vice-presidential candidate. Burr’s ambitions were well-known, and many saw him as a self-indulgent opportunist whose vanity outweighed any revolutionary conviction.

The task of breaking the tie fell to the House of Representatives. Newly appointed Chief Justice John Marshall, Jefferson’s cousin and a committed Federalist, feared that Jefferson would undermine the Constitution, the banking system, and foreign policy. Yet, even Alexander Hamilton, despite his disdain for Jefferson, preferred him over Burr due to Jefferson’s supposed “pretensions to character.”

As the House voted 35 times through mid-February 1801, tensions ran high. Republican newspapers stoked the crisis, with some even advocating for military intervention. Virginia and Pennsylvania began preparing militias, convinced the Federalists were plotting to subvert the election’s outcome.

Wood writes:

“Mobs gathered in the capital and threatened to prevent any president from being appointed by statute. On February 15 Jefferson wrote Governor James Monroe of Virginia that the Republicans had warned the Federalists that any statutory naming of a president would lead to the arming of the Middle States and the prevention of any ‘such usurpation.’”

Ultimately, a compromise was brokered. Jefferson assured Federalists that he would preserve the financial program, maintain the navy, and not dismiss subordinate Federalist officeholders except for cause. On the 36th ballot, Jefferson was finally declared president. This episode revealed a key truth: Jefferson’s revolutionary rhetoric often required pragmatic compromises to secure power.

The Power of the Press in Marketing Democracy

Jefferson’s use of the press didn’t end with his election. It became a cornerstone of his presidency’s image. Gordon Wood notes that the post-Revolutionary era saw a flood of political and religious exiles from Britain and Ireland. Many were radical writers, printers, and editors who contributed to the explosive growth of the American press, increasingly aligned with the Republican cause.

Wood writes:

“In the generation following the Revolution, over three hundred thousand British and Irish immigrants entered the United States... the surge of Republican papers represented a remarkable shift in a short period of time.”

Publications like the Aurora, edited by Benjamin Franklin’s grandson Benjamin Franklin Bache, became central to Jefferson’s effort to frame his politics as the fulfillment of the Revolution’s promise. The Aurora even declared Jefferson’s election as the moment “the Revolution of 1776, is now, and for the first time arrived at its completion.”

Jefferson and his allies continued to exploit the press to cement their narrative of popular democracy. This marketing effort successfully positioned Jefferson as the true defender of republicanism, even though the reality often contradicted his rhetoric.

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The newspapers of the Early Republic provide a valuable lens through which to understand the political anxieties and strategies of a nation undergoing rapid transformation. The fervor of revolutionary change shaped how Americans—who were not enslaved or disenfranchised due to gender or land ownership—saw their place in this new nation. Yet, the persistent clash between idealism and reality would become a recurring American theme. The election of 1800 stands as the first major instance of America reinventing itself to sustain a national narrative capable of appealing to those who could no longer be excluded from the political conversation, while simultaneously creating smokescreens to obscure the true centers of power—often wielded in antidemocratic ways.

Next week, we will dive into specific elements of the Jefferson years (as Wood frames them) and how Jefferson’s role became both a propeller and crucible for the complex relationship between democracy’s promises and its realities in American life.

The Thomas Jefferson Mascot at Nationals Park. Creative Commons.

Each week, I’ll provide a playlist I’ve curated that I think you may enjoy. This one is Sun-Kissed Revelries, featuring dreamy selections from the 60s, 70s, and early 80s.