ms, if it sleeps, present only
visions of hell."

In 1801, New England was in bitter, irreconcilable opposition to the
National Administration. The situation was fraught with grave
possibilities. Jefferson himself looked forward to "an uneasy
government," if the whole body of New England continued in opposition to
Republican principles. Ordinary political opposition was to be expected,
of course; but a sectional opposition, fortified by a social solidarity
like that of New England, was a menace to the Union. From the moment
when he took the oath of office, Jefferson directed his best energies to
the Republican conquest of New England. It was a policy dictated not
only by partisan considerations, but also by the highest instincts of
statesmanship. The fair-minded historian is bound to record that the
Jeffersonian party in this period of its history was, in spite of all
its inconsistencies, a potent agency in the maintenance of the Union.

The first conquest of the Republicans was that of Rhode Island in the
first year of the new Administration. The President was deeply gratified
by what he called "the regeneration of Rhode Island," interpreting the
event as "the beginning of that resurrection of the genuine spirit of
New England." Vermont, he prophesied, would next emerge from under the
yoke of the Federalist hierarchy; and the fall election verified his
prediction. Elsewhere the contest was more stubborn and prolonged, but
the Federalists noted with alarm that the Republican vote was
increasing everywhere. By the end of Jefferson's first term, the number
of Republican voters in New England very nearly equaled that of their
opponents.

The ranks of the Republican party were recruited largely from the rural
districts, where hostility to the mercantile and moneyed classes was
most bitter. It was the old alignment of the men of little or no
personal property against the prosperous and well-to-do classes. From
this point of view the Republican movement was an attack upon the
privileged orders, an attempt to break down the social hierarchy of New
England. Closely connected with the political movement was also the
struggle of the Baptists and the Methodists to secure religious freedom
in Massachusetts and Connecticut. The dissenters looked to Jefferson as
their natural leader; and the bitter opposition of the Congregational
clergy to the spread of democracy was due to their persistent, and no
doubt sincere, belief that diss