The First Political Parties

Background Info. In 1797, Thomas Jefferson worried about tensions within the government. There were two sides: One that supported Jefferson and his views, the other supported Alexander Hamilton. This split was a change from Washington’s time in office. There had been no political parties then, now there were two competing for power.

A Distrust of political parties The Constitution does not mention political parties, in fact the framers had seen the damage done by parties in Britain. They were hoping that parties would not form. Most Americans did not want to see the rise of political parties either. They assumed this would prevent politicians from working for the entire country. Disagreements between two of Washington’s advisers led to the growth of two political parties in the 1790’s.

Jefferson VS. Hamilton Jefferson and Hamilton disagreed on many issues. Their differences had started with the question of the nation’s debt. Hamilton wanted the U.S. to become more like Britain. He urged the growth of cities, trade, and manufacturing. He also thought that the federal government should help in a nation’s economic plan.

Jefferson believed that farmers were the backbone of the nation Jefferson believed that farmers were the backbone of the nation. He feared that industrial growth would corrupt Americans and their way of life. He also believed that state governments should be more powerful than the federal government. Hamilton felt just the opposite should be true.

Hamilton had helped to establish the Bank of the United States Hamilton had helped to establish the Bank of the United States. Jefferson opposed the Bank because he felt it gave too much power to the federal government. He felt that the law that established the Bank was unconstitutional. Jefferson’s objection to the Bank was based on a strict interpretation of the Constitution. He argued that no where in the Constitution did it say that the federal government had the power to establish a bank. He believed that any powers not clearly defined for the federal government went to the states.

Hamilton felt that the words of the Constitution should be more loosely defined. In his view, the federal government had the power to establish the Bank of the United States because the Constitution states that Congress can make laws that are “necessary and proper.” He argued that the Bank was needed to make the government work more efficiently.

The last area of conflict between Hamilton and Jefferson was in foreign relations. Hamilton favored Britain as an important trading partner. Jefferson favored France who had been an ally during the Revolution.

A Widening Rift At first, Jefferson and Hamilton only disagreed in private. But, as Congress started to pass Hamilton’s economic programs, Jefferson and James Madison decided to fight back. Jefferson and Madison traveled to New York to meet with important politicians there. One of the politicians they met with was Aaron Burr. The men asked Burr to persuade New Yorkers to vote for men who supported Jefferson’s plan in the upcoming elections. With more votes in Congress, Jefferson hoped to defeat Hamilton’s economic plans.

Parties Take Shape Soon leaders in several states started to side with either Jefferson or Hamilton. Jefferson’s supporters called themselves the Democratic Republicans, which they often shortened to just Republicans. Supporters of the Republicans included farmers, craft workers, and some wealthy planters.

Hamilton and his supporters called themselves Federalists because they favored a strong federal government. They drew support from merchants and some southern planters.

Newspapers take Sides Both Republicans and Federalists used newspapers to gather support for their cause. The Gazette of the United States defended Hamilton. Jefferson’s friend started a rival newspaper in Philadelphia called the National Gazette. This paper strongly supported Jefferson. These two newspapers played a major role in the new nation. They kept people informed and helped shape public opinion.

The election of 1796 The new political parties played a major role in the election of 1796. The Republicans chose Thomas Jefferson to run for President and Aaron Burr as Vice President. The Federalists nominated John Adams for President and Thomas Pinckney for Vice President.

The election had an unexpected outcome. According to the Constitution, the person who received the most electoral votes became President and the person with the next highest amount of votes became VP. John Adams received the most votes so he became President, but Thomas Jefferson received the second highest amount so he became VP. With a President and VP from two different parties, conflict was sure to come.