Unit 7: The Federalist Era Lesson 2: Political Parties Develop

What was Washington worried about at the end of his 2nd term? That the major differences between political parties would tear the country apart In his farewell address, he said:

political parties: groups of people with similar ideas & beliefs about gov’t

Why did Washington so distrust political parties? He saw that, historically, other countries with political parties had gone from one country/one people who were supposed to work together to 2 (or more) groups of people who grew to hate each other, to the detriment of their country.

He had observed that when political party members were extremely committed to their party, they could be overcome by the desire to help their party win and rule

Because they so wanted to help their political party progress/grow, 1. they tended to focus on their own narrow agendas, instead of what was best for the country as a whole Because they were so focused on their party’s agendas, 2. they tended to forget the fundamental human virtues upon which the country was formed, like justice, decency, reason, kindness, humanity

And it wasn’t just history that had taught him the potential perils of the spirit of party He witnessed it first-hand during his own presidency

He had reason to worry both resigned from Washington’s Cabinet His closest advisors, Hamilton & Jefferson, had disagreed so strongly about gov’t policies that both resigned from Washington’s Cabinet

On most issues, Hamilton & Jefferson disagreed too sharply for any kind of compromise Before the end of Washington’s 2nd term, their followers had split into 2 groups

Hamilton’s followers were called the Federalists They supported most of the decisions made by the gov’t Jefferson & James Madison led an opposition group, called the Democratic–Republicans (sometimes called Republicans, but not related to today’s Republican party)

Hamilton, much more so than Jefferson, influenced many of Washington’s decisions Hamilton & Washington wanted a strong central gov’t Jefferson, though, wanted a weak central gov’t

Even though Washington tried not to side with either group so he’d be a symbol of national unity, he was thought of as a Federalist

What were we talking about before? Washington tried to remain neutral (not side with either party) but his beliefs fell more in line with the Federalists So what makes a Federalist a Federalist?

The Federalists They mostly represented the interests of wealthy people, like manufacturers, bankers, & business owners

The Federalists They were afraid of the idea of popular democracy (pretty much, direct rule by all American people) So they wanted the gov’t to be run by wealthy, successful people

The Federalists They wanted a strong national gov’t that would hold the states together They followed a “loose construction” of the Constitution to try to increase the national gov’t’s power

“Loose Construction”? the gov’t could do it Because the Constitution was a very general framework, it didn’t specifically address certain problems The Federalists pretty much believed that if the Constitution didn’t specifically deny the national gov’t the power to do something, the gov’t could do it This interpretation of the Constitution therefore allowed the national gov’t to do more, and thus made the national gov’t stronger

What else did the Federalists want? They wanted the gov’t to support the growth of cities, trade, businesses, & industries

How did the Democratic-Republicans differ from Federalists? They represented the interests of less wealthy, more common people like artisans, shopkeepers, & small farmers Much of their support came from the South

They believed that ordinary people could govern themselves Jefferson wanted power to be shared by all the people, not limited to a small, select group He also wanted strong state gov’ts, & a weaker national gov’t

Did Jefferson’s ideas make sense? Yes, if you consider that in the 1790s, about 90% of the U.S. population was small farmers He believed that farm families who owned & worked their land were the country’s strength

But what about the fact that most of those farmers were uneducated? Would they know what rights & freedoms they were entitled to? Would they be able to defend those rights? Would they understand the issues the country was concerned with? Jefferson had a plan for all this

He wanted to establish a system of public education to help farmers better understand & defend their rights & freedoms

Did they follow a “loose construction” of the Constitution, like the Federalists? Nope. Just the opposite. They followed a “strict construction” to try to increase the power & independence of state gov’ts

only had the powers that the Constitution said it had By following a “strict construction,” they believed that the national gov’t only had the powers that the Constitution said it had

While the Federalists wanted the gov’t to support the growth of cities, etc., The D-Rs opposed the growth of cities, trade, businesses, & industries Jefferson actually saw cities as evil places

George Washington, Alexander Hamilton Major Federalists: George Washington, Alexander Hamilton Major Democratic-Republicans: Thomas Jefferson, James Madison

How did the 2 parties get people in the U. S How did the 2 parties get people in the U.S. to follow/join/agree with them? The press (newspapers) played a huge role American newspapers had been very political since colonial times In the 1790s, the number of newspapers more than doubled

The new political parties were quick to sponsor newspapers that followed their viewpoints Each party had a national newspaper that helped shape public opinion to fit their mold

During Washington’s second term, the 2 parties battled for control of Congress The Democratic-Republicans ended up winning the majority of seats in the House of Representatives

rival political parties In the presidential election of 1796, candidates sought office for the first time as members of rival political parties The Federalists’ choice was John Adams (VP Thomas Pinckney) The D-Rs’ choice was Thomas Jefferson (VP Aaron Burr)

According to the Constitution, the presidency & vice presidency would go to the 2 candidates with the most electoral votes

John Adams (Federalist) won the most electoral votes (71) Jefferson won the second-most (68) This meant that the President & VP came from opposing political parties

The political oops was: The election process back then made it possible for the President and Vice President to be from opposing political parties

The question was… Would this combination unite the 2 parties? Or would it make governing the country nearly impossible because the 2 leaders disagreed on almost every major issue?