ABSTRACT
The politically minded citizens of the United States felt competing pressures in the late eighteenth century. They were the proud defenders of a new nation, established in a spectacular stand against the imperial might of Great Britain, but were still vulnerable to predation by strong European powers. The requirement to establish a government system with strength enough to build and maintain the nation's presence on a difficult international scene suggested that a strongly centralised authority was needed. America's population had also developed significantly differing political cultures within the boundaries of distinct colonies and this varied heritage militated against governmental centralisation.
