Thomas Paine and the Federalists
Paine’s dispute with the Federalist Party aristocracy evolved into today’s dispute with the descendant Federalist Society and the oligarchy it serves. Peaceful mass protests today would please Paine.
Democracy and autocracy fight in most nations on earth at one time or another. In the newborn United States, Thomas Paine lost this fight with the Federalists, who shaped the U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1787. Their plan for centralized government, called federalism, was defined in 85 newspaper essays by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay, published together in 1788, today called The Federalist Papers.
The conservative and nationalist Federalist Party, founded in 1789 by Hamilton, ruled the U.S. government from 1789 to 1801. Vested in an aristocratic ruling class in America, Federalists backed English interests and blocked French interests. British lords called Federalists the “English Party” and “Oligarch Party.” They considered John Adams a “monarchist” after he proposed hereditary succession for the U.S. presidency.
Federalist Adams was President George Washington’s vice president from 1789 to 1797, when he became the 2nd U.S. President. Under the laws then, his vice president was Thomas Jefferson, who led the opposing Democratic-Republican Party, the Republicans.
Jefferson fought federalism. He upheld states’ rights to govern commerce and opposed Hamilton’s central bank. Jefferson advocated the universal human right to migrate. He rebuked Hamilton’s claims of “implied powers” not granted in the Constitution. (Jefferson was prescient.)
To counter the influence of Jefferson and the Republicans, President Adams signed the Federalists’ 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts to legalize deporting “alien” immigrants while stifling free speech. Thomas Paine became a target of Federalist suppresion.
Paine was in Europe by 1787, shuttling between England and France to finance an iron bridge he’d designed. After the Bastille fell in 1789, to uplift the ideals of the French Revolution and refute the idea of hereditary kings, Paine wrote Rights of Man, published in two parts, 1791 and 1972. Paine stayed safe to France as a British court convicted him in absentia of seditious libel. The press told ad hominem lies about his character.
In contrast, France honored Paine with French citizenship and a voting seat in the National Assembly as the representative of Calais. Rights of Man renewed Paine’s fame in America, too, fueling Jefferson’s fight with Federalists for the political soul of the new nation.
Federalists wanted to silence Paine. Their chance came n 1793 as the “Reign of Terror” arose. Paine lost clout in the Assembly by voting against beheading the king. America’s minister to France, Gouverneur Morris, a Federalist, advised Robespierre to imprison Paine for the “crime” of being English, thus an enemy of France. As a prisoner of conscience, Paine grew ill as Morris denied his U.S. citizenship, as did President Adams.
Robespierre fell in 1794. America’s new minister to France, James Monroe, secured Paine’s release. In 1794 and 1795, Paine published The Age of Reason. Popular in Europe, in the United States the book drew a fiery backlash from Federalists and conservative Christians. They vilified him with lies and abuse that discredit Paine to this day.
In 1802, President Jefferson invited Paine back to America. He arrived so ill that he had to be carried off the ship. Paine published letters to the nation saying Federalists had betrayed the revolution. When he died an outcast in 1809, did Paine feel a sense of unfinished business?
I observe my country today sliding too easily into the same federalist tyranny that Paine fought valiantly but unsuccessfully as his health failed. Ancient authority addiction has surfaced before in my nation, as it has in most lands. Does Paine in spirit now want to finish the fight?
After the inauguration, I was among those doing a “news fast.” Concern and curiosity returned me to the headlines. I felt sadness within fear, and this did not surprise me. I responded with social media memes of Paine quotes on square parchments — tiny seedthoughts sown in global culture.
I’m now tracking the news on how Trump is dismantling democracy in America and disrupting life on earth faster than the resistance is stopping him. I see my nation giving way too easily to the coup. (Authority addiction at work.) No point reporting it all. Others are doing it, and If I write it here, whenever you read it, it’s old news. Instead, I wtie this to voice a soul agreement with Thomas Paine, if such be possible, and this does surprise me.
In my opinion, a skeptic like Paine, I see Trump ineptly enacting Project 2025, in over his head, as if taking orders, as if in a deal to stay out of jail, deflecting wth bluster, resorting to political and military force. Paine’s dispute with the Federalist Party aristocracy evolved into today’s dispute with the descendant Federalist Society and the oligarchy it serves.
Trump claims powers never granted by the Constitution. For instance, Article I, Section 8 says Congress sets tariffs, but Congress in 1932 let President Roosevelt adjust rates. Abusing that right, Trump like a king decrees tariffs on erratic whims. Court challenges do restrain him, yet resulting trade wars, supply chaim disruptions and rising consumer prices already spoil local to global economies. The April 2025 stock market was the worst since 1932. Pundits warn of world recession or global depression. I deduce the handiwork of despotic federalists. I hear Paine crying his dismay.
I rejoice as the resistance catches fire, starts taking it to the streets. In the USA and around the world, peaceful mass demonstrations emerge. Trump’s own voters voice buyers’ remorse. People are standing up for themselves and for liberty. Gives me hope. Renews my courage.
On Saturday afternoon, April 5, I dive my aging EV downtown and park in a handicapped space at the Denver Public Library, closed Saturdays from lack of funds. I walk through Civic Center Park to the state capitol for the Denver “Hands Off” protest against Trump.
I am here for one of the 1,300 events in all 50 U.S. states plus territories, organized by 150 grassroots groups that engage millions. At least 100,000 fill the National Mall in Washington, DC, matched by crowds in Boston, Los Angeles Chicago, and New York (fills six blocks of Fifth Avenue). World cities with rallies include Amsterdam, Berlin, Frankfurt, Guadalajara, Lisbon, London, Lyon, Nice, Ottawa, Paris, Toronto, and Vienna. Protests are a starting point. Gives me hope!
Handmade signs tell Trump to keep his “hands off” democracy and America. Hands off our jobs, our wallets, our data, our bodies. Hands off Social Security, veterans services, consumer protections. Hands off education, libraries, and books. Hands off free speech. Hands off science, clean air, clean water, clean energy, public lands. Hands off the courts, due process, elections. I relish two signs, “No Kings!” and “I have friends everywhere.”
Glad to see I’m not alone in my thinking. Sad to see my nation learning to value freedom by losing it awhile. Joyful to see millions nonviolently standing up for democracy. Grateful to feel in my heart that we really can repair our world together with organizing and common global sense. Paine must feel heartened.
An excerpt from Making Global Sense: Grounded hope for democracy and the earth, inspired by Thomas Paine’s Common Sense (GlobalSensse.com). Ask for a copy at your local library and bookstore.