The First Political Parties of the US: Federalist vs Democratic Republicans | History with Ms. H

In this lesson, we are going to go over the first two political parties - the #Federalists and #DemocraticRepublicans.

At the end of the video, you should be able to tell me:
Why did political parties start in the US?
What did the Federalists believe?
What did the Democratic-Republicans believe?

A political party is a group of people with similar political goals and opinions. In general, political parties emerge when two or more groups of people have opposing views of government and both want to gain power.

To understand why the first two major parties were founded in the United States, we need to go all the way back to Washington’s presidency. When he became president, Washington made sure to fill his cabinet with people who had different opinions so he could make more informed decisions as president. The two most outspoken members of Washington’s cabinet were #ThomasJefferson, Secretary of State, and #AlexanderHamilton, Secretary of the Treasury. Jefferson and Hamilton disagreed on almost everything, and their debates became the foundation for the first two political parties’ ideologies.

#GeorgeWashington saw these disagreements becoming more and more heated. In his Farewell Address, Washington warned against creating political parties, which he called “factions.”

Alexander Hamilton is considered the founder of the Federalist Party, and John Adams emerged as another party leader. The Federalists favored a strong federal government and a loose construction of the Constitution. This means they believed the #Constitution could be interpreted broadly - the government could do more than just what the Constitution explicitly stated, using the “necessary and proper” clause in Article I to defend their reasoning. Remember, Hamilton used this argument when he defended the creation of the Bank of the United States. The Federalists supported the growth of businesses, and they advocated for a protective tariff. This protected American businesses by making foreign imports more expensive than American-made goods. Finally, they supported alliances with Great Britain and their policies tended to support the wealthy. Federalists found most of their support in the North.

Thomas Jefferson, Hamilton’s enemy from Washington’s cabinet, is considered the founder of the Democratic-Republican Party, and James Madison became another early party leader. Unlike Federalists, Democratic-Republicans favored strong state governments over a strong federal government. They believed the powers of the federal government were limited to only what is explicitly stated in the Constitution, or a strict construction of the Constitution. Democratic-Republicans believed the government should happen at a more local level since they could deal with the state's concerns more effectively. Because of this, they supported state banks instead of a national bank. Additionally, Democratic-Republicans supported free trade with Europe and wanted an alliance with France after their support in the American Revolution. Their policies tended to support agriculture and the “every man.” Jefferson believed being a yeoman farmer, or small farmer, was the American ideal. Because of this, most of their support came from the South.

Over time, the political parties would evolve, disappear, and new parties would emerge. #Politicalparties have become driving forces in American politics. Do you agree with Washington’s warnings about parties, or do you think parties are an important aspect of our democracy? I look forward to hearing your thoughts next time I see you in class.