The Federalist Party is a Party for American Conservatism in The Yale Political Union. But perhaps this needs some explanation. We formed the Federalist Party as a place in which to cultivate knowledge of the ideas, cultural practices, and institutions that are essential to the country we know and love. This is not to say, however, that we accept anything that can be labeled “American.” On the contrary, we abhor such typically American phenomena as the breakdown of the family, the culture of casual hook-ups, fashionable relativism, extended adolescence, consumerism, and materialism. And we are wary of the social dislocation caused by meritocracy, the homogeneity of suburban sprawl, and the outmoded impact of celebrity culture.

But we insist that there is more to America than the selfish individual demanding his rights. Ours is a country with a long history and a rich culture. On the Federalist debate floor, you will hear odes to the lost Western frontier, the yeoman farmer, citizen militias, backwoods revivalism, puritan austerity, traditional courtship, baseball, hunting, jazz, the 1950s, and other sundry American glories before the present decline.

Politically, we draw from a broad but neglected tradition. Ours is the Party of Washington, of Adams, of Marshall and Hamilton and Jay. That they lived some centuries ago is immaterial to the quality of their witness. They created a Union, cautioned against the evils of the French Revolution, avoided unnecessary war, established public credit and opposed slavery. They stood for a vigorous but limited government, a public strength born not of size but of conviction. 20^th century federalists were animated by the same vision to oppose bureaucratic bloat. Federalists are both American and anti-modern; they are both conservative and traditional.

We invite you to join us.