Isabella Carter
The United States Constitution, drafted in 1787, makes no mention of political parties. However, political factions or parties began to form during the struggle over its ratification. The Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, wanted a strong central government and supported the creation of a national bank. On the other hand, the Anti-Federalists, led by Thomas Jefferson, advocated for states' rights and opposed centralized power. These differences in ideology led to the emergence of the two-party system, with the Federalists and Anti-Federalists/Democratic-Republicans becoming the first two political parties in the US.
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What You'll Learn
The Federalist Papers
The Federalist Party, an early U.S. national political party, advocated for a strong central government and held power from 1789 to 1801. The term "federalist" was first used in 1787 to describe supporters of the newly written Constitution, who emphasised the federal character of the proposed union. The Federalist Papers were thus written to combat Anti-Federalism and to persuade the public of the necessity of the Constitution. The papers stressed the need for an adequate central government and argued that a republican form of government could be adapted to the large expanse of territory and divergent interests found in the United States.
The Federalist Party saw the Articles of Confederation as weak and indicative of the instability a nation faces without a strong centralised government. Thus, they advocated for the Implied Powers of the President within the Constitution, alongside Federal Supremacy. The Federalists maintained that the Constitution was to act as a safeguard to prevent a tyrant from taking power, with checks and balances, Senate approval, Judicial Review, and Executive-appointed positions.
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The Constitution and political parties
The Constitution of the United States, drafted in 1787, makes no mention of political parties. The Founding Fathers, who framed the Constitution, viewed political parties as a necessary evil. They wanted to avoid the divisions that had occurred in England during the bloody civil wars of the 17th century. They saw parties as "factions", corrupt relics of the monarchical British system.
However, Thomas Jefferson, serving a diplomatic post in France during the Constitutional Convention, believed it was a mistake not to provide for different political parties in the new government. He wrote, "Men by their constitutions are naturally divided into two parties."
Political factions or parties began to form during the struggle over the ratification of the federal Constitution of 1787. Friction between them increased as attention shifted from creating a new federal government to the question of how powerful that government would be. The Federalists, led by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, wanted a strong central government. Meanwhile, the Anti-Federalists, led by Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, advocated states' rights instead of centralized power.
The Federalists succeeded in convincing the Washington administration to assume national and state debts, pass tax laws, and create a central bank. These moves saved the fledgling democracy from poverty and potential destruction. The Federalists were largely influenced by the ideas of Alexander Hamilton, who was also a strong defender of the Constitution.
On the other hand, the Democratic-Republican Party, the forerunner of today's Democratic Party, was formed largely in response to Hamilton's ambitious financial programs, which were seen as concentrating too much power in the federal government. The Democratic-Republicans and Federalists spent much of the first president's second term bitterly attacking each other in competing newspapers over their opinions of his administration's policies.
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The Democratic-Republican Party
The Democratic-Republicans believed in a strict interpretation of the Constitution, also known as "strict construction". This meant that they wanted the Congress or the President to follow the Constitution word for word, limiting the powers of the federal government and emphasizing the rights of individual states. They saw a strong central government as potentially oppressive and detrimental to the rural society and farmers they represented. They advocated for an economy based on agriculture, in contrast to the Federalist preference for an economy based on manufacturing, commerce, finance, and overseas trade.
The Democratic-Republicans were strongest in the South and the western frontier, where they had the support of artisans, shopkeepers, frontier settlers, backcountry and poor farmers. Many of their supporters were illiterate and less educated than Federalists. They believed in self-government and that America was founded on democratic principles. They supported the common man and wanted to protect individual liberties.
The party was divided on the issue of slavery, with many Southern Democratic-Republicans, especially from the Deep South, defending the institution. Thomas Jefferson believed slavery was immoral but opposed the immediate emancipation of all slaves, instead favoring a gradual phasing out. Northern Democratic-Republicans took a stronger anti-slavery stance, seeing it as incompatible with the equality and individual rights promised by the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
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The Federalist Party
The Federalist Papers, written by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay, were a series of 85 articles and essays promoting the ratification of the Constitution and combating Anti-Federalism. The papers stressed the need for an adequate central government and argued that the republican form of government could be adapted to the large expanse of territory and divergent interests found in the United States. Hamilton, in particular, opposed the addition of a Bill of Rights to the Constitution, arguing that an explicit enumeration of rights could later be interpreted as a restrictive list.
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The role of the federal government
The Federalist Party, led by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, wanted a strong central government. They believed in the implied powers of the Constitution to allow for the creation of a national bank and supported the assumption of national and state debts, the passing of tax laws, and the creation of a central bank. The Federalists largely represented the commercial sector, the New England and Mid-Atlantic states, and the monetary policies that gave more power to the federal government. They were also against ties with France, favouring closer links to Britain.
The Anti-Federalists, led by Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, advocated states' rights instead of centralized power. They drew their strength from those favouring an agrarian society and believed in individual freedoms and the rights of states. They opposed the concentration of federal power under George Washington and John Adams, seeing it as a dangerous threat to liberty. They also opposed the Federalist Party's monetary policies and supported France over Britain in foreign policy.
The Democratic-Republican Party, or the Jeffersonian Republicans, was formed in opposition to the Federalist Party. Led by Thomas Jefferson, they believed in individual freedoms and states' rights. They favoured France over Britain in foreign policy and opposed the Federalist Party's use of the Alien and Sedition Acts to clamp down on those who spoke in favour of France.
The Democratic-Republican Party later split over questions about the powers of the federal government, with the National Republicans supporting a national bank and federal funding of internal improvements, and the Old Republicans continuing to support states' rights and a smaller federal government.
The Federalist Party and the Democratic-Republican Party bitterly attacked each other during George Washington's presidency, with Washington ultimately urging Americans to always place the interests of the nation above their political and regional affiliations.
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Frequently asked questions
The Federalist Party, led by Alexander Hamilton, wanted a strong central government. They supported the creation of a national bank and the establishment of monetary policies that gave more power to the federal government. They also rejected ties with France in favor of closer links to Britain.
The Democratic-Republican Party, led by Thomas Jefferson, advocated states' rights instead of centralized power. They believed in individual freedoms and the rights of states. They favored France over Great Britain in foreign policy and opposed the Federalists' clampdown on those who spoke in favor of France during the undeclared war at the end of the 1790s.
George Washington believed that political parties would divide and destroy the young United States. He wanted to be a president of all American citizens and thought that unity was necessary for a democratic republic to survive. He warned the nation of political parties in his Farewell Address, stating that partisanship would lead to a "spirit of revenge" and distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration.
