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| | Essay V: 1800-1848 |
 | | As we consider this period of American history, we must remember that the political, constitutional, diplomatic, and military history we used to study as the whole of American history is only part of the history of the American people. |
 | | But the repudiation of the Federalists in that election, exacerbated by their repeated political defeats and leading ultimately to their disintegration as a political party by 1816, suggested briefly that American public life would be dominated by one-party consensus politics. |
 | | Finally, although Jeffersonian Republicans celebrated the growing democracy of America, they still conceived of politics and governance as concerns reserved for the educated, well-bred elite; the great body of the people were relegated to the role of appreciative observers who, at election time, would reward virtuous and public-spirited officials with re-election. |
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