The Federal Period The time after the Revolutionary War when America was beginning a new consciousness, marked by its recently acquired independence, was called the Federal Period. American furniture makers still modeled designs from England but soon created styles with balanced proportions and symmetrical lines associated with classical design. Styles were generally named for the monarchs who reigned or for the design influences that prevailed at the time the style was introduced. There was usually a time lag before the style became popular in America because much of America’s colonial population lived in rural areas wh