103 The Emergence of Democratic Ideals and a New National Identity

1763–1820

Upon his election as president in 1788, George Washington described his feelings as “not unlike those of a culprit who is going to the place of his execution.” The period of revolution and republic-building that began with Washington’s election was challenging not only for the new president, but for the newly independent nation as a whole. The American people, once freed from British rule, were challenged to create and enact a republican government and a national identity in a period when elites continued to liken ordinary folk to the “common herd.” This traditional distrust of “the people” came up against the democratic ideals that energized non-elites, who increasingly regarded liberty as a birthright. Competing conceptions of national identity gave rise to tension, and yet an emergent idealism trumped the difficulties Washington anticipated, creating a political culture pregnant with the optimism of the age. The emerging democratic ideals shaped values, sparked reform efforts, and created an enduring republican culture out of a complex diversity of people.