Washington Benevolent Societies
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The Washington Benevolent Societies were grass-roots political clubs set up 1800-1816 by the Federalist Party in the U.S. to electioneer for votes. They helped pioneer electioneering techniques in a democracy. Into the Age of Jackson, an oration on Washington's birthday, February 22, was commonly delivered before the Washington Benevolent Societies in various states, and sometimes it would be printed.
[edit] Secondary scholarly sources
- David Hackett Fischer. The Revolution of American Conservatism: The Federalist Party in the Era of Jeffersonian Democracy (1976) ISBN 0-226-25135-7
