Washington’s Farewell Address Delivered on September 17, 1796
Library of Congress: George Washington Papers
Page 12
I Have a Better Idea…
Washington’s Warnings What two things did President Washington want us to avoid in the future? – The creation of political factions – The use of unnecessary foreign alliances, or the use of “temporary alliances for extraordinary purposes”
Guess What??? Our increased trade led to close political alliances In turn, these circumstances led to being drawn into the War of 1812
Guess What??? We have political parties anyway Even Washington said the spirit of the party is inseparable from human nature The spirit of the party is an unfortunate part of every government, whether it plays a large role or a small one
Our First Party System Federalists vs. Republicans
Federalists Led by Alexander Hamilton Wanted a strong national government Supported by merchants, manufacturers and some planters Supporters were mostly in the North
Democratic Republicans Republicans for short Led by Thomas Jefferson Supported by small farmers artisans and some wealthy planters More southern
Federalists vs. Republicans
The Election of 1796 Federalists vs. Republicans
Election of 1796 Federalists backed Vice President John Adams for President They also backed Thomas Pinckney for Vice President Republicans backed Thomas Jefferson for President Aaron Burr was their hopeful for Vice President
Election of 1796 Under the Electoral College procedure in the Constitution, the candidate with the most electoral votes was president The runner-up was made vice president How is that different from today???
Election of 1796 So, technically… –A–A Republican could be elected President and have a Federalist Vice President –O–Or, the other way around
The Election of 1796 Where the unlikely can happen, it does Federalist candidate John Adams received the most votes, therefore becoming President Republican Thomas Jefferson received the second-highest number of electoral votes, therefore becoming Vice President
Possible Problems? Having the President and Vice President from opposing parties further increased political tensions