U. S. History: From the Colonial Period to 1817

THE FIRST PARTY SYSTEM: FEDERALISTS V. REPUBLICANS

POLITICAL PARTIES

POLITICAL PARTIES are organizations that mobilize voters on behalf of a COMMON SET OF INTERESTS, concerns, and goals. In many countries political parties play a crucial part in the democratic process. The functions of political parties include:

Formulating political agendas

Selecting candidates

Conducting election campaigns

Managing the work of elected representatives

Providing the means by which people can have a voice in government.

1st POLITICAL PARTIES

FEDERALISTS

REPUBLICANS

Constituency

Merchants, bankers, manufacturers from New England and the middle-Atlantic states.

Artisans, shopkeepers, small farmers, and large plantation owners from the South and from western regions at the nation.

Leadership

ALEXANDER HAMILTON

THOMAS JEFFERSON

View of Human Nature

Hamilton, a self-made man, distrusted the people. Man, he thought, is naturally selfish, unreasonable, and violent.

Jefferson, born to wealth and social position, thought that if men are given the opportunity, they are naturally decent and reasonable.

Attitude Toward Government

Believed in a highly CENTRALIZED GOVERNMENT as a means of keeping order.

Saw the common people as unable to govern themselves.

Believed that government should be as far removed from the people as possible.

Favored a strong federal government and limited powers for the states.

Advocated a strong executive department and strong courts to maintain order and insure justice.

Favored a standing army.

Wanted to imitate British aristocracy (rule by the rich) without a king.

Willing to censor the press for political power.

Believed in a MINIMUM OF GOVERNMENT to safeguard the rights of the people.

Saw the common people as able to govern themselves.

Believed that government should be as close to the people as possible.

Favored local government over national because it was closer to the people.

Favored Congress over the other branches of government because it best reflected the popular will.

Opposed standing armies because a military leader might seize control of the government.

Wanted more democracy than in the British parliament.

Favored freedom of speech & press.

Wanted greater involvement by the people through lower voting qualifications.

Favored reducing government interference by decreasing and number of federal officeholders.

View of the Constitution

Held LOOSE CONSTRUCTIONIST view that the Federal government had implied powers not listed in the Constitution (i.e., the Federal government had all the powers not expressly forbidden it by the Constitution).

Held STRICT CONSTRUCTIONSIT view that the Federal governments powers should be limited in favor of states rights (i.e., the Federal government had only the powers expressly stated in the Constitution).

Foreign Policy Perspective

Favored Great Britain in culture and trade.

Distrusted Great Britain and wanted closer relations with France because it had just been through a democratic revolution.

The Federalists, led by John Adams and Alexander Hamilton, believed in a strong national government. Reading broadly into the Constitution (loose constructionism), they argued that government power should be used to promote economic development through the creation of a national bank and the construction of federally-financed roads, harbors, and bridges. Federalists believed that America's economic future depended on the cultivation of strong commercial ties with Great Britain. And they argued that America's emerging manufacturing sector should be encouraged through protectionist measures such as tariffs.

The Republicans, also called Democratic-Republicans, were led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. They supported a weaker national government restricted in its powers by a narrow reading of the Constitution (strict constructionism). They feared that federal intervention in the economy would benefit only a few wealthy northeasterners, and they believed that agriculture, not manufacturing, should remain the country's economic base. Republicans opposed closer ties to Britain and tended to sympathize with the French in their revolution and subsequent war with the British.

While the Federalists dominated the government through the 1790s, they rapidly declined after 1800. Thomas Jefferson's election to the presidency was bolstered by Republican victories in the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Federalists remained powerful enough to obstruct certain Republican measures for about a decade, but they were not strong enough to prevent the United States from going to war against Britain in 1812a war the Federalists vehemently opposed. Their continuing opposition to the war, even after it began, severely damaged their viability as a national party. When the United States survived its war with Britain and won tremendous victories at Baltimore and New Orleans, the Federalists' reputation was shotand their national political clout was over.

For the next decadea period sometimes called "The Era of Good Feelings"the United States was essentially a one-party nation; the Republicans governed with little opposition. But factions within the party soon emerged, and these factionslabeled National Republicans and Democratic Republicanseventually morphed into the dominant parties that would define the second party era, lasting from 1828 to the mid-1850s.

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Democratic-Republicans vs Federalist - United States History