At the close of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia on September 18, 1787, a Mrs. Powel anxiously awaited the results, and as Benjamin Franklin emerged from the long task now finished, asked him directly:

"Well Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?"
"A republic, Madam, if you can keep it," responded Franklin.

The new United States didn’t have an easy road after the creation and ratification of the Constitution in the late 1790s. At the time, most Americans actually did not feel “American”, since there was much more loyalty to one’s state than to the nation as a whole. The nation as a whole was still mistrustful of a powerful government, and the ratification battle demonstrated that many Americans were divided in the philosophy over how their country should be governed. The “New Republic” faced an uncertain future.

Many of the problems from the Confederation period were still present. The nation had a rather large debt remaining from the Revolution and leaders had different ideas regarding the economics of the nation. Foreign countries were still questioning the power of the young United States. In addition, America started to battle Native Americans as the country expanded to the West.

How would the “New Republic” meet the many challenges it faced in its infancy? In what ways would the new nation grow during its early years? These two essential questions will serve as the bookends for our examination of “The New Republic” in Unit 2. We will look at the leadership of the “Founding Brothers”, including Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson, and Madison. We will also see the development of the first political party system in America and see the development of the Electoral College. We will explore with Lewis and Clark as the nation continues to celebrate the bicentennial of the Corps of Discovery. We will also investigate the causes and effects of the War of 1812 (the “Second War for American Independence”). We will end the unit by examining the incredible growth of the New Republic in the areas of industry and nationalism.

In addition, we will investigate the 2008 Presidential election during this unit. We will discuss the role of political parties in our current society, examine the viewpoints of each of the major presidential candidates, and analyze some editorial cartoons dealing with the election.