Decline
The Federalists opposed such groups, saying they had been started by Citizen Genêt as a tool of the revolutionary government in Paris. Members responded by claiming they were inspired by the Sons of Liberty, the Whig Clubs and other republican groups of the 1770s. President Washington vehemently denounced the societies in late 1794, following his successful quelling of the Whiskey Rebellion. Washington complained that the Democratic-Republican societies in western Pennsylvania had helped instigate the revolt and thus were enemies of the new government and nation. By 1796, most of the groups had disbanded.
As educational organizations, they had some influence. They believed that a republican nation required citizens to act together to deal with social problems at the grass roots. The mobilized citizenry was essential to defeat aristocracy (which they identified with Alexander Hamilton). In opposing rule by the few, they helped define what rule by the many might be.
Read more about this topic: Democratic-Republican Societies
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