Answer:
Democratic-Republicans were absurd in their support for the French.
Explanation:
The above fragment of a letter was penned at the time of the so-called Jay Treaty, which was a 1795 treaty between the United States and the United Kingdom that settled a series of unsolved leftover issues from the time when the UK finally accepted the independence of the US in 1783. Amongst other things, Britain accepted to leave the forts it still kept in North America, it paid compensation to the US for several past debts, and augmented trade between both nations.
The Jay Treaty was signed at a time of high tension between the UK and Revolutionary France, which had just got rid of its ancient monarchy and established a new republic, something that was seen as a threat by other European monarchies at the time. In the United States, the Jay Treaty was a matter of fierce debate, as the Federalists generally sided with Britain against France, fearing that the revolutionary fervor would spread to the US and bring anarchy. On the other hand, the Democratic-Republicans welcomed the French Revolution. They hoped the ideals promoted by it, which they saw close to those of their own American Revolution, would soon spread, so they supported the French against the British. The author of this letter, however, doesn't seem to support that position, as he claims the Democratic-Republicans were absurd in their support for the French.
