* * * * *
It is one of the maxims of history that great events produce great men,
and the struggle for independence abundantly proved this. Never again in
the country's history did it possess such a group of statesmen as during
its first years, the only other period at all comparable with it being
that which culminated in the Civil War. It was inevitable that these men
should assume the guidance of the newly-launched ship of state, and
Washington had, in every way possible, availed himself of their
assistance. Alexander Hamilton had been his secretary of the treasury,
Thomas Jefferson his secretary of state, and James Monroe his minister
to France. The first man to succeed him in the presidency, however, was
none of these, but John Adams of Massachusetts. His election
was not uncontested, as Washington's had been; in fact, he was elected
by a majority of only three, Jefferson receiving 68 electoral votes to
his 71.
Let us pause for a moment to see how this contest originated, for it was
the beginning of the party government which has endured to the present
day, and which is considered by many people to be essential to the
administration of the Republic. When Washington was elected there were,
strictly speaking, no parties; but there was a body of men who had
favored the adoption of the Constitution, and another, scarcely less
influential, who had opposed it.
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