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In 1789, it was an open question whether
the Constitution was a workable plan of

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government.

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Independence had hardly been won before
a major split emerged within the new

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nation's political elite. Alexander
Hamilton of the Federalists, and Thomas

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Jefferson of the Republicans, represented
two contrasting visions for the young

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United States.

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The Federalists favored a strong central
government, but the Jeffersonians

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believed a government with too much federal
power would resemble the monarchical

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society that Americans had
just rebelled against.

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Rarely in American history has political
rhetoric been so impassioned. Leading

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up to the election of 1800, The
Federalists warned that if Jefferson were

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elected, Americans would "see [their]
dwellings in flames" and "female chastity

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violated."

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It was unclear whether the new nation
could establish a strong national

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government, a vigorous economy, or
win the respect of foreign nations.

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This political instability would come
to a head in the summer of 1804. Vice

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President Aaron Burr squared off in a
duel against Hamilton. Shot by a single

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bullet, piercing his liver and spleen,
Hamilton would be dead by sunset the next

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day.