Political Unity Quotes
“Republicans” then referred to strong opponents of not only monarchy, but opposed a strong Presidency and federal government. The Federalists who supported John Adams for reelection to a 2nd term, were trounced so badly that it was the end of the Federalist Party. Their attacks on Jefferson had been particularly vicious with the hyperpartisanship as bad as in the early years of the 21st century. Jefferson tried to unify the nation with this quotation. It helped but there was still much bitterness.
Coping with the French and their Indian allies was a problem for all the American colonies and Franklin was the strongest voice for some kind of union or federation for not only mutual defense, but to facilitate commerce by having some uniform currency and basic laws of trade to promote the mutual economy. The 6 Iroquois tribes had years ago formed the Iroquois nation complete with a formal constitution that maintained tribal identity but also enabled unified action if any were attacked and provided mutual assistance on a number of economic areas. They became the strongest, wealthiest, healthiest and most sophisticated nation of North America before European colonization and unlike many other Indians with a few exceptions–see {21747} for an example–got along very well with the English colonists. Franklin was a great admirer and wanted to use some of their Constitutional provisions in the American Constitution 36 years later, but at the time tried to embarrass many American's into forming a union with language like this quote. Actually, he did not think of them as savages at all, but most Americans who knew little about them did, and Franklin was never above using people's prejudices to get them to buy into one of his political ideas.
After defeating the Federalists, Jefferson tried to unite a politically divided and fractious country:
Unfortunately for McCain too many Republicans feared his ideas of reform such as elimination of corporate welfare and campaign finance reform. He lost to George W. Bush.
Theodore Roosevelt was the Presidential nominee
