In this Presidential election, the Federalist Party suffered a very, very significant blow.
It was not an insignificant party; in fact, its influence in the North was arguably superior to that of the Democratic Party, yet this time, the Democratic Party surprisingly defeated both the Federalist Party and the Republican Party in several Northern states.
Although this involved the so-called winner-take-all election method, the main reason was the overlap in voters between the Federalist Party and the Republican Party. Even in the states where the Republican Party won, its lead over the Democratic Party was not particularly significant, as many votes were split by the Federalist Party.
Even the Republican Party, which had an advantage in various aspects, felt uneasy, and the Federalist Party, whose influence was much smaller compared to the Republican Party, naturally felt even more insecure. Ultimately, the Democratic Party secured victory in two Northern states, leading the Republican Party and the Federalist Party by a narrow margin.
However, the Federalist Party consistently lost by a narrow margin in every state, either to the Republican Party by an absolute majority or to the Democratic Party by a slight disadvantage, failing to win a single state.
Many common people who usually did not express clear political views and simultaneously supported both the Republican Party and the Federalist Party, when faced with having to elect only one pair of candidates this time, cast their votes for Franklin and Madison.
Conversely, those who originally supported the Democratic Party united and cast their votes for Jefferson and his running mates in this crucial election. This is why the Democratic Party ultimately won two Northern states, while the Federalist Party failed to win any.
However, the current Federalist Party, after all, does not have a strict system of party member control; its party members are influenced much more by voters than by internal party dynamics.
The voters' electoral inclination this time immediately prompted many to consider switching their allegiance to the Republican Party. At this juncture, Charles opportunely dropped hints of recruitment, which immediately drew considerable responses.
Washington and Adams, one pondering whether to join the new cabinet, the other still immersed in the pain of electoral defeat, only realized that many excellent grassroots party members had left when it was too late; most had already switched their allegiance to the Republican Party.
Such an event naturally surprised them greatly.
Washington was somewhat better; although he was part of the Federalist Party, his primary concern was the entire States. As long as such actions did not disadvantage the States, he would not be particularly bothered.
He merely decided to give Charles a heads-up when he saw him, hoping he could restrain the Republican Party's actions, and was not particularly anxious.
But Adams was different; he had founded the Federalist Party himself, pouring all his efforts into it. After this electoral defeat, it was his only political asset to rely on, and his last hope for a comeback.
How could he tolerate the Republican Party's poaching? So, as soon as he discovered the anomaly, he immediately rushed to Charles in person.
"Honorable Speaker Charles! I am extremely indignant about your Republican Party's recent actions. By recruiting members from other parties, you have set a very bad precedent.
In the future, other parties will no longer need to train their own excellent members; they can just poach people directly from other parties!" Adams stormed in, fuming, yet without much of a justifiable reason to articulate.
The anger in his heart could not be vented, and his entire face was flushed red.
"Haha! Respected Mr. Adams, this matter is entirely the private actions of those below us in both parties. As the leader of the Republican Party, I did not specifically participate.
As for the fact that it has already happened, I also feel very regretful," Charles remained unmoved.
If it weren't for the Federalist Party still holding a few seats in Congress, and the fear that they might not cooperate later and just cause trouble, he wouldn't even have bothered to say such a not-so-subtle remark.
"Hmph! Mr. Godfrey, I sincerely hope you can immediately stop such behavior, otherwise, I will have no choice but to immediately cooperate fully with the Democratic Party," Adams issued a threat.
Compared to the unjustified accusations, such a threat was clearly much more effective.
Charles immediately showed a warm smile on his face.
"Mr. Adams, why say such a thing? After learning some things, I have already told those below that such behavior is improper, and they should no longer continue to heavily recruit people from your Federalist Party, right?"
Most of the talented individuals who needed to be recruited have already been brought in; the remaining ones are either lacking in intelligence or ability, or their positions are not sufficiently wavering, and Charles is no longer interested in expending great effort to win them over.
Moreover, the Democratic Party and some other independent politicians had also noticed the Republican Party's poaching behavior and began to react to it.
Since Adams had issued such a threat, Charles naturally knew when to stop, saving Adams some face, which would be beneficial for future discussions.
Hearing Charles agree to cease the actions, Adams' expression immediately brightened considerably.
If the Republican Party insisted on poaching his Federalist Party members, he truly wouldn't know what to do. Even if he mobilized other parties and political figures to oppose the Republican Party's actions with him, Adams knew how much damage that would cause his own Federalist Party.
Therefore, his heart was still filled with hatred for the Republican Party, but his resentment towards Charles had significantly lessened.
"Mr. Godfrey! I hope you will uphold your promise, so we can continue to meet in the future!"
"Of course. There is no eternal enmity between political parties, only temporary conflicts. I believe we will have many more opportunities for cooperation in the future!" Charles said with a smile.
Just as Charles successfully poached a large number of talents from the Federalist Party, yet managed to prevent Adams from pursuing the matter, Franklin's work on forming the new government was also officially completed.
The cabinet list drafted during the Republican Party meeting remained largely unchanged. Franklin merely established a National Security Affairs Committee within the cabinet, headed by Washington and Jefferson, the two failed Presidential candidates.
Its primary function was to provide advice to the President and the cabinet, with a rank equivalent to the Secretary of State, the head of the Department of State, the largest department in the cabinet.
Its power was slightly subordinate to that of other ministers, but with Presidential authorization, it could override them.
Although this cabinet appeared to be a united and stable cabinet, in reality, due to the significant conflicts of interest between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party on various political and economic policies, and Franklin's decision to include Jefferson, the leader of the Democratic Party, in the cabinet, this inherently introduced contradictions into the cabinet.
Therefore, the deep-seated conflicts hidden beneath were truly immense.
At the end of 1783, just days before Franklin was to be sworn in as the second President of the United States, news of the latest situation in France arrived in America via a steamship from Europe.
A month earlier, the people of Paris, who had not secured their rights in the Estates-General, officially launched an uprising, storming the Bastille, a symbol of royal power.
Subsequently, troops were dispatched to raid and surround the Palace of Versailles, taking king Louis XVI and the Queen and other royal family members to Paris.
The insurgents declared the establishment of a revolutionary government, representing all of France, and prepared to march across the country.
The French Revolution erupted four years earlier than in history.
This news deeply shook Americans, who had always viewed Europe as the center of the world, so much so that the inauguration ceremony for the new President and government was hastily held.
People constantly awaited steamships from Europe, eager to learn the latest on the French situation.
Many American youths, passionate about revolution, influenced by Thomas Paine, General Charles, and other Americans in France, even prepared to pay their own way to France to aid the French Revolution.
Many Americans sympathetic to the French revolutionaries also generously donated funds to the cause.
Of course, there were also many who sympathized with king Louis XVI and supported the French Bourbon dynasty, with a particularly high proportion among the upper echelons.
These individuals began to incite other members to demand that Congress pass a resolution to not recognize the French Revolutionary Government, prohibit common citizens from going to France to support the revolution, and forbid any aid from flowing into the hands of the French Revolutionary Government.
Many also prepared to donate money and goods to the forces supporting the king in France, in repayment for Louis XVI's support of the United States during the war of Independence.
However, unlike the fervent atmosphere among the populace, the isolationist sentiment in American upper society was still very strong at this time.
Many members did not mind issuing a statement, but they were very unenthusiastic about concrete intervention in European affairs.
They believed that they were a small and weak nation and should not get involved in the affairs of the European great powers, lest they invite trouble.
Against such a social backdrop, most of the proposals submitted to Congress received very little support from the majority of members.
Consequently, it was not until the appointments for the various departments of the new government were approved, when the truly unavoidable Congress finally, belatedly, passed a statement expressing concern over the French Revolution, hoping it would not affect the traditional American-French friendship, and calling for restraint from both sides.
Charles, regardless of these formal gestures, constantly had people monitoring the situation in Louisiana, as well as the movements of the Portuguese and Spanish forces in Florida and South America, always ready to move Congress to take action in these regions at a critical moment.
Time finally slowly advanced to 1784, which was destined to be a restless year.
In early January, news arrived from France that the Revolutionary Government was preparing to publicly try Louis XVI and the Queen. This greatly shocked the feudal monarchies of Europe, who issued strong demarches, hoping the Revolutionary Government would reconsider its decision.
The American Government also had no choice but to state its position on this issue.
Although this cabinet still appears to be a united and stable one, in reality, because the Democratic Party has extremely significant conflicts of interest with the Republican Party on various political and economic policies, and Franklin still wants to include Jefferson, the leader of the Democratic Party, in the cabinet, this itself brings contradictions into the cabinet. Therefore, the deep-seated conflicts hidden beneath are truly immense.
At the end of 1783, just a few days before Franklin was to be sworn in as the second President of the United States, a steamship from Europe brought the latest situation in France to America.
A month earlier, the people of Paris, who had not gained their rights at the Estates-General, officially launched an uprising, capturing the Bastille, a symbol of royal power.
Immediately thereafter, troops were sent to surprise attack and surround the Palace of Versailles, taking Louis XVI and the Queen and other royal family members to Paris.
The insurgents announced the formation of a French Revolutionary Government, representing all of France, and prepared to march across the country.
The French Revolution erupted four years earlier than in history.
This news deeply shook Americans, who had always viewed Europe as the center of the world, so much so that the inauguration ceremony for the new President and government was hastily held.
People constantly awaited steamships from Europe, eager to learn the latest on the French situation.
Many American youths, passionate about revolution, influenced by Thomas Paine, General Charles, and other Americans in France, even prepared to pay their own way to France to aid the French Revolution.
Many Americans sympathetic to the French revolutionaries also generously donated funds to the cause.
Of course, there were also many who sympathized with king Louis XVI and supported the French Bourbon dynasty, with a particularly high proportion among the upper echelons.
These individuals began to incite other members to demand that Congress pass a resolution to not recognize the French Revolutionary Government, prohibit common citizens from going to France to support the revolution, and forbid any aid from flowing into the hands of the French Revolutionary Government.
Many also prepared to donate money and goods to the forces supporting the king in France, in repayment for Louis XVI's support of the United States during the war of Independence.
However, unlike the fervent atmosphere among the populace, the isolationist sentiment in American upper society was still very strong at this time.
Many members did not mind issuing a statement, but they were very unenthusiastic about concrete intervention in European affairs.
They believed that they were a small and weak nation and should not get involved in the affairs of the European great powers, lest they invite trouble.
Against such a social backdrop, most of the proposals submitted to Congress received very little support from the majority of members.
Consequently, it was not until the appointments for the various departments of the new government were approved, when the truly unavoidable Congress finally, belatedly, passed a statement expressing concern over the French Revolution, hoping it would not affect the traditional American-French friendship, and calling for restraint from both sides.
Charles, regardless of these formal gestures, constantly had people monitoring the situation in Louisiana, as well as the movements of the Portuguese and Spanish forces in Florida and South America, always ready to move Congress to take action in these regions at a critical moment.
Time finally slowly advanced to 1784, which was destined to be a restless year.
In early January, news arrived from France that the French Revolutionary Government was preparing to publicly try Louis XVI and the Queen. This greatly shocked the feudal monarchies of Europe, who issued strong demarches, hoping the French Revolutionary Government would reconsider its decision.
The American Government also had no choice but to state its position on this issue.