The Democratic-Republican Press
Each political party had its own newspapers that supported its views. Two such Philadelphia papers were the Aurora and the National Gazette. They were incredibly partisan newspapers that openly supported the Democratic-Republicans. Thomas Jefferson recruited James Callender, a Scottish immigrant with a questionable past, to write for these papers. Callender was well known for his dislike of Federalist policies, and Jefferson was more than happy to serve as his patron. Jefferson even leaked confidential documents to Callender so that he could use them to attack Hamilton. Callender wrote scathing rebukes of George Washington, John Adams, and Alexander Hamilton. He frequently accused Washington and Hamilton of increasing public debt and trying to turn America into a monarchy; he portrayed Adams as “vain,” “elitist,” and “anti-Republican.”
Front page of the National Gazette, a newspaper that openly supported the Democratic-Republicans.
Callender and other newspaper writers emphasized character attacks rather than policy critiques. Newspaper editors called their political opponents “wicked,” “worthless,” and “vile.” For example, Callender described Adams as “mentally deranged” and accused Washington of “monarchical vice” because he had thrown himself a birthday party. To curb Hamilton’s political influence, Callender wrote a pamphlet in which he exposed Hamilton’s affair with Maria Reynolds and falsely accused Hamilton of financial speculation and of bribing Maria Reynolds’ husband with hush money from the U.S. treasury. This scandalous pamphlet destroyed Hamilton’s political career. Jefferson and other Democratic-Republicans were more than happy to witness his downfall.
Take Notes
How did James Callender contribute to political divisions? Write three examples below:
