Essay The Rise of Political Parties

A political party is a group of people who seek to win elections and hold public office in order to shape government policy and programs. George Washington warned the nation against creating political parties in his famous “Farewell Address”. He feared political parties would divide the country and weaken support of the Constitution (Doc 4). The first major political parties, the Federalists and the Republicans, were created during the term of President George Washington. Despite President Washington’s warning, the rise of the two political parties, in the years after his term was inevitable. The Federalists were in favor of a strong central government, while the anti-federalists opposed most their ideas. Over time, the gradual development

George Washington warned us about the threat of political parties in his farewell speech. Only four years later political parties were apart of the election. These two parties were the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans. There are many views that they shared, but also lots of issues they disagree on. For example both parties supported the French Revolution, but only to a certain degree.

More than personality fueled the political crisis of the 1790’s; two strong individuals dominated the era. (Reader, 165) The federalist split into two factions over financial policy and the French Revolution, and their leaders, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, offered contrasting visions of the future. (Textbook, 193) The conflict gave rise to political parties by creating factions on opposite political sides. Both saw a great future for the nation but very different approaches.

America had just successfully broken away from Britain and was trying to establish itself as a new nation in the world. The Constitution was still in effect and holding the nation together and giving it boundaries to abide by. Many people had polarized views of the Constitution, some with a strict interpretation and others with a loose interpretation of the Constitution. It is these differing views, therefore, which created various political parties throughout the country. During the early 1800’s, there were many presidential elections with all the candidates looking to fill the rolls of their predecessors, George Washington and John Adams. Each candidate looked to leave a positive lasting impact on the growth and development of the United States. There were multiple candidates for each election, each with varying views on government and different issues to address during each election. The

After Washington became president, people started forming political parties based on how they thought the government should be run. Washington did not like the idea of the country being divided into “factions,” as he called them. But the problem was that this was happening

On September 19, 1796, George Washington began his Farewell Address. The Father of America was retiring, but he gave a crucial piece of advice before leaving. He warned the people not to create political parties since factions would split the nation and promote absolutism. Unfortunately, his own two advisors failed to follow his advice. Not long after Washington retired, American politics revolved around Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Jefferson represented the Jeffersonian Republicans while Hamilton was a federalist. Some people state that the Jeffersonians Republican Presidents Jefferson and Madison had beliefs and policies that often time reflected those of Hamilton's. This statement is accurate to a very little extent.

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.

As the United States began to establish itself, its people started to split into factions due to their differing opinions on various topics. The Federalists and Democratic-Republicans disagreed on important issues that would decide the fate of the still-young nation. The opposing views led to two distinct political parties that debated over politics in the U.S., national economic policy, and foreign policy.

Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson were both strong patriots of their time. Both leaders had strong opposing perspectives of American government . This disagreement of views between Hamilton and Jefferson led to them becoming fierce rivals and the establishment of two political parties. Hamilton and the Federalists believed in an effective national government and a weak state government. On the other hand Jefferson and the Republicans prefered stronger state power instead of a powerful national one.

John Adams feared the same thing, “there is nothing which I dread so much as a division of a republic into two great parties…” What they both meant is that the nation is supposed to be unified, however these two parties are tearing the nation apart. They both have such different political mind sets, and they believe strongly in their opinion.. These two parties were formed at the end of Washington’s first term in 1793. Alexander Hamilton who was the lead in the Treasury Department, in George Washington’s cabinet guided the

There were many events that lead to America splitting into two political parties in the 1790’s. The two parties are the Federalists and the Democratic Republicans and when it comes to the government they have completely different views. The Federalists were lead by George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and John Adams and lived mainly in the north. They strongly supported the central government because they believed that the government should be big and strong. The Democratic Republicans lived mainly in the west and south and were lead by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. The Democratic Republicans were against a big government and believed the states should have more power. Political parties were created in the 1790’s because of the war between

Around 1792 was when the First Party System began to show up. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison believed that Alexander Hamilton’s policies threatened the United States. They called themselves Republicans. On the other hand Hamilton was accusing Jefferson and Madison of destroying the republic. Hamilton’s supporters called themselves Federalists.

George Washington, the first president of the United States stated in his farewell address in 1796 about the dangers of division due to “geographical discriminations” such as political parties. This warning would completely be disregarded, because by the 1790s political parties had been formed. In fact, the first election after he left office in 1796, was the first openly partisan election. Americans had been divided into two different parties with completely opposing ideologies.

The Founding Fathers of the United States did not mention political parties in the Constitution. When George Washington left office he warned the country of the "baneful effects of the spirit of party"(Crabtree 18). and James Madison believed that the new nation's politics would be structured around a greater number of "factions representing various segments of the electorate" rather than the overwhelmingly bi-partisan arrangement that exists today (Barone 64). Others felt they existed only to manipulate the independent will of the voters. Yet, by the end of

Today, political parties are an authoritative and essential component of the United States political system. However, it is important to examine how the political parties began and evolved over hundreds of years, since they were first established. In 1794, the major political parties were the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. The major difference between these two was that the Federalists favored a strong central government, while the Democratic-Republicans preferred a central government with limited power and more state control. At the time of the election, it seemed that the prominent, distinguished Federalist Party clearly had the upper hand, but in the end the