ShmoopTube

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[ musical flourish ]

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And here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by the worst of times -

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7:15 A.M.

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Yeah, that.

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All right, check out this excerpt.

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[ mumbles ]

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[ mumbling continues ]

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All right, and now the question.

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Despite Washington's advice in this letter and elsewhere,

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the French Revolution in 1789

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had what affect on the American political landscape?

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Hmm.

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And here are your potential answers.

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[ mumbles ]

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[ mumbling continues ]

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Ah, the French Revolution.

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It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

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But mostly the worst of times.

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All that chaos and violence across the sea was

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bound to have an affect on the early American republic.

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But what exactly was it?

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Well, let's check out our potential answers.

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Did the French Revolution A -

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lead to a military alliance

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between France and the United States?

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Well, that'd make sense given that the French swooped in

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to save the Americans at the end of their own revolution,

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but remember Washington's letter.

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He was advocating neutrality.

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And that's what happened. Sorry, Frenchy.

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Did the French Revolution B - strengthen relations

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between the United States and Great Britain?

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Well, the French were overthrowing their monarchy,

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which in many ways was a direct challenge

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to the English crown, as well.

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The Americans just went through their own revolution

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against the British, so they certainly wouldn't

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grow closer to them right now.

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And since the Spanish were aligned with the British,

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well, we can eliminate D, as well.

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So that means the French Revolution C -

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exacerbated political differences

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in the United States.

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At first, most of the general public

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supported France's revolution because of the whole "we hate kings" thing.

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But as the Revolution persisted,

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it led to greater violence,

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bloodshed, and radical arguments which frightened many Americans.

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Generally, the Democratic-Republican party led by Thomas Jefferson

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supported the French,

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while the Federalist party led by Alexander Hamilton

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wanted to maintain ties with the British.

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And since both of those gentlemen were

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the most vocal members of Washington's cabinet,

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well, you can bet things got a little steamy.

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So C is the right answer.

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Looks like Thomas Jefferson caught something he couldn't shake

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from living all those years in Paris.

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[ chuckles ]

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