Republicanism in the late 1790s was characterized by a belief in limited government, out of the hope that this limitation would protect civil liberties, especially freedom of speech, the separation of church and state, and the freedom of the press. Republicans of this era believed that the power of the government should derive directly from the people, with as few intermediaries as possible. They favored direct elections and other procedures that empowered voters to have a direct say in national politics.

Federalism in the late 1790s was founded on a suspicion of the common man: Federalists from John Adams to Alexander Hamilton believed (to differing degrees) that the federal government should be centralized and endowed with expansive powers. They believed in the value of experienced civil servants and favored electoral procedures that involved expert representatives standing between the voters and the appointment of government officials, such as the electoral college.

In 1798, Federalists in Congress used their power to consolidate power in the federal government, when they authorized the organization of additional troops to protect America in the case of an invasion by Jacobin France. “Always fearful that Hamilton might use the force against them, Republicans naturally denounced it as a ‘standing army,” (75) a term which was still unpopular for its associations with the British standing army commanded by King George III at the time of the American Revolution.