Democratic Republicans Vs Federalists

During the time period of 1801 to 1817, there were multiple issues in the United States ranging from wars to political boundaries. This time period saw the termination of the Federalist party. The conflicts were between two parties called the Jeffersonian Republicans and the Federalists. The Federalist party was officially started by John Adams. John Adams was also a loose constructionist just like all the other Federalists. Federalists were in favor of a strong central government. On the other side, was Thomas Jefferson who was in office from 1801 to 1809. Jefferson started the Jeffersonian Republican party. The Jeffersonians were strict constructionists who believed in states rights. They said that anything that is not stated in

George Washington himself wanted to avoid a party system in America. Unfortunately, even when saying this he was part of the beginning of one of the first parties in United States politics. There have been many different parties surface since the beginning of the American political system. They all have different thoughts, policies, and motivations. Each party has come and gone, some have made significant contributions and others have not. The first split, and beginning of the party system, came with the differentiation between the Federalists and the Democratic Republicans. These two parties were extremely different in thought, design, and status of people involved. This paper, will deal with

Federalists and Democratic-Republicans are different in many ways, but also had some similarities. To begin with. Federalists were ruled by the wealthy people, and Democratic-Republicans were ruled by the people. This meant that the Democrats were ruled by all people and everybody was part of it. For Federalists only rich people were part of it. The Federalists had a strong federal government. But, the Democrats had a strong state government. The Democrats were an alliance with the French. The Federalists were an alliance with Britain. The Federalists had a loose interpretation with the constitution. The Democrats had a strong interpretation with the constitution. The Federalists wanted a national bank, and the Democrats wanted a state bank.

Federalists and Democratic-Republicans have many different beliefs and views on our constitution.Federalist believe our country should be ruled by the “Best people”.Federalists think our country should be ran by the educated and wealthy.Most federalist shared a common view that people were selfish and only out for themselves so they distrusted any system of government that gave too much power to common people.There logic was since these people were given the education and background they had the right foundation to run the country wisely and they were trusted to make good decisions.This view came dangerously close to monarchy ,or being ruled by a king.

Conflicting views and contrasting ideologies have always existed throughout the history of United States politics. Alexander Hamilton, who led Federalist Party, believed that a powerful central government was necessary while Thomas Jefferson, who led the Jeffersonian Republican Party, favored an agrarian nation with most of the power left to the states. Although Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson were similar in that they both harbored good intentions and tried to keep the best interests in mind for the future of the United States, their policies were drastically different. Without doubt, both of their contrasting ideas served a vital role in forming the government.

The origins of the Federalist and Democratic-Republican parties can be traced back to the early 1790s. Initially, the Federalists, or broad constructionists, favored the growth of federal power and a strong central government. The Federalists promulgated a loose interpretation of the Constitution, which meant that they believed that the government could do anything by the implied powers of the Constitution or that congress had the right to interpret the Constitution based on connotation. On the contrary, the Democratic-Republicans favored the protection of states’ rights and the strict containment of federal power. The Democratic-Republicans were strict constructionists and they

Federalists were firm believers in the production of a strong central government and a broad interpretation of the Constitution. However, the Democratic Republicans believed that the government should follow a strict interpretation of the Constitution and held the idea that this would allow honest representation of the people and prevent government corruption.

In the 18th century, the fate of Americas political structure was uncertain. In George Washington's Farewell Address in 1796, the president advised that the creation of political parties sharpened by the spirit of retaliation, would inevitably cause long term mistreatment. Despite his words, two of his closest advisors, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, formed the gatherings that started the dual-party system in which the United States operates today.

Despite the fact the founding fathers advised contrary to the establishment of political factions as the Constitution withstood the ratification process, a rift amongst men in President George Washington’s cabinet instituted the move toward the conception of political party. During the time period between 1791 and 1833, a two-party system had begun that demonstrated the philosophy of the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans. Although these two political groups were unyielding in their original ideas and beliefs, both had to change a few of their initial standpoints on numerous topics as they dealt with the truth of the government.

The United States of America was founded on a Constitution that was supposed to preserve our freedoms and certain liberties. All Americans at that time wanted to keep America a free an independent nation with rights for its people. However there was two different groups, the Federalists lead by Alexander Hamilton and the Democratic-Republicans led by Thomas Jefferson, which thought this could be achieved in very different ways.

The United States began as a weak, newborn nation that grew into a large, self-supporting country with a governing body unique to this time period. As the government grew and the nation prospered, the rise of leaders and political figures came about and with this, conflicting principles and ideology spawned, thus creating the first of the political parties; the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. Although the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans ideology and stances on the power of the federal government, domestic economic policies and the group of constituents they represented differed vastly, members of both parties often compromised their own beliefs for the nation’s best interest as a whole.

Though both Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson served as members of President Washington’s cabinet, the two held very different views on the newly founded U.S. government, interpretation of its constitution, and the role of the “masses” in that government. These conflicting views would develop in two political parties, the Federalists led by Hamilton and the Democratic-Republicans led by Jefferson. Although both political parties presented enticing aspects, Hamilton’s views were much more reasonable and fruitful when compared Jefferson’s views; idealistic and too strict in reference to the constitution.

“The framers of the constitution envisioned a one-party state in which partisan distinctions would be muted by patriotism and public virtue.” (Faragher, et. al, page 211) However, even in our early days of nationhood, different factions of beliefs would ensue. As Founding Fathers of our nation, both Hamilton and Madison played large roles in the evolution of political parties and many of the foundations of these parties still remain today.

The Federalists main argument was a large republic would be vulnerable to aggression from foreign powers, internal unrest to the point of civil war absent a Federal Government. Federalists also believed they had an obligation to create a republican government versus a democratic government to protect the Federal government against such situation, because a republican governments elect representatives to make government decisions, republican governments are better equipped to make decision based on national interest, not state or local interest; while a democratic government would be more inclined to base decision on local interests because all citizens in a democratic government have a direct role in government decision making process.

The division of ideas led to the creation of the two-party system. The main issue between the two parties was how they believed the Constitution should be read and interpreted. When George Washington was president he assigned to people to his cabinet. Hamilton and Jefferson both which seen differences in the constitution. One believe that so of the constitution was good the other believe that some of it was inappropriate. This cause a rift and a split into a two-party system (AP U.S. History Notes).