Political Parties
Would this speaker have agreed or
disagreed with Washington about
political parties? Give examples.
• “It (political parties) serves to distract the Public
Councils, and enfeeble the Public
Administration…agitates the Community with illfounded jealousies and false alarms; kindles the
animosity of one.... against another....
it opens the door to foreign influence and
corruption... thus the policy and the will
of one country are subjected to the policy
and will of another.”
Who needs political parties
anyway?
•
•
When the US first began, there
were no political parties. In fact,
most people did not want political
parties. Americans had seen the
British political parties, and knew
how bad they could be. In
England, the parties often plotted
to win government favors or
bribes. Americans saw political
parties as threats to national
unity.
As much as people said they did
not want them, it did not take long
for political differences would
birth political parties. Two parties
sprang up led by two very different
people: Alexander Hamilton and
Thomas Jefferson.
Republicans vs. Federalists
•
•
Hamilton and Jefferson disagreed on
almost everything. Hamilton thought that
the United States should focus on
manufacturing as our main source of
income. Jefferson thought we should focus
on farming and agriculture. Hamilton
wanted a strong federal government and
Jefferson wanted strong state
governments. Hamilton preferred a loose
interpretation of the constitution, and
Jefferson preferred a very strict
interpretation of the constitution. Finally,
the two leaders disagreed over foreign
policy. Hamilton wanted close ties with
Britain, a major trading partner. Jefferson
favored France, the first ally of the United
States.
The two parties that emerged were the
Republicans (led by Jefferson) and the
Federalists (led by Hamilton). As party
rivalries grew, newly formed newspapers
took sides. Newspapers had great
influence on public opinion. Often, articles
mixed rumor and opinion with facts.
Emotional attacks and counter-attacks
fanned the flames of party rivalry.
Who’s Going to Win
(the suspense is killing me!!)
•
As the election came to pick George
Washington’s successor, the parties
each had a candidate that they were
backing. The republicans backed
Thomas Jefferson for President and
Aaron Burr for Vice President. The
Federalists supported John Adams
for President and Thomas Pinckney
for Vice President. Elections were
different back then, though. The
person who got the most votes got to
be president, and the person who got
the second most votes got to be vice
president. So, John Adams of the
Federalist party became president,
and Thomas Jefferson of the
Republican party became vice
president. Having the white house
divided like this only worked to more
deeply divide the country.
I didn’t see
that coming!!