This unit on the Federalist era of U.S. history examines some of the issues that have endured from the earliest days of the nation to the present: free speech, the right to rebel, foreign policy, the balance of federal and state authority, and the relative importance of various constituencies. Student understanding of such issues develops through examination of the issues as faced by President Washington and two of his closest advisors, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. At some points, the text calls upon students to act as advocates, elsewhere, as critics. In working with the material, students must think through the issues, organize their thoughts, and express those thoughts orally and on paper. Some of the chapter topics are "The New Nation", an introduction to the unit's major issues; "Paying the National Debt"; "Neutrality and the Jay Treaty"; and "Jeffersonians in Office." The document includes a foreward, an introduction, an explanation of sources, and suggested student readings. (SG)