1. Unit 7: The Federalist Era
Lesson 2: Political Parties Develop

2. What was Washington worried about at the end of his 2nd term?
That the major differences between political parties would tear the country apart
In his farewell address, he said:

3. political parties:
groups of people with similar ideas & beliefs about gov’t

4. Why did Washington so distrust political parties?
He saw that, historically, other countries with political parties had gone from
one country/one people who were supposed to work together
to 2 (or more) groups of people who grew to hate each other, to the detriment of their country.

5. He had observed that
when political party members were extremely committed to their party,
they could be overcome by the desire to help their party win and rule

6. Because they so wanted to help their political party progress/grow,
1. they tended to focus on their own narrow agendas, instead of what was best for the country as a whole
Because they were so focused on their party’s agendas,
2. they tended to forget the fundamental human virtues upon which the country was formed, like justice, decency, reason, kindness, humanity

7. And it wasn’t just history that had taught him the potential perils of the spirit of party
He witnessed it first-hand during his own presidency

8. He had reason to worry both resigned from Washington’s Cabinet
His closest advisors, Hamilton & Jefferson, had disagreed so strongly about gov’t policies that
both resigned from Washington’s Cabinet

9. On most issues, Hamilton & Jefferson disagreed too sharply for any kind of compromise
Before the end of Washington’s 2nd term,
their followers had split into 2 groups

10. Hamilton’s followers were called the Federalists
They supported most of the decisions made by the gov’t
Jefferson & James Madison led an opposition group, called the
Democratic–Republicans
(sometimes called Republicans, but not related to today’s Republican party)

11. Hamilton, much more so than Jefferson, influenced many of Washington’s decisions
Hamilton & Washington wanted a
strong central gov’t
Jefferson, though, wanted a weak central gov’t

12. Even though Washington tried not to side with either group so he’d be a symbol of national unity, he was thought of as a Federalist

13. What were we talking about before?
Washington tried to remain neutral (not side with either party) but his beliefs fell more in line with the Federalists
So what makes a Federalist a Federalist?

14. The Federalists
They mostly represented the interests of wealthy people, like
manufacturers, bankers, & business owners

15. The Federalists
They were afraid of the idea of popular democracy (pretty much, direct rule by all American people)
So they wanted the gov’t to be run by wealthy, successful people

16. The Federalists
They wanted a strong national gov’t that would hold the states together
They followed a “loose construction” of the Constitution to try to increase the national gov’t’s power

17. “Loose Construction”? the gov’t could do it
Because the Constitution was a very general framework, it didn’t specifically address certain problems
The Federalists pretty much believed that if the Constitution didn’t specifically deny the national gov’t the power to do something,
the gov’t could do it
This interpretation of the Constitution therefore allowed the national gov’t to do more, and thus made the national gov’t stronger

18. What else did the Federalists want?
They wanted the gov’t to support the growth of cities, trade, businesses, & industries

19. How did the Democratic-Republicans differ from Federalists?
They represented the interests of less wealthy, more common people like artisans, shopkeepers, & small farmers
Much of their support came from the South

20. They believed that ordinary people could govern themselves
Jefferson wanted power to be shared by all the people, not limited to a small, select group
He also wanted
strong state gov’ts, & a weaker national gov’t

21. Did Jefferson’s ideas make sense?
Yes, if you consider that in the 1790s, about 90% of the U.S. population was small farmers
He believed that farm families who owned & worked their land were the country’s strength

22. But what about the fact that most of those farmers were uneducated?
Would they know what rights & freedoms they were entitled to?
Would they be able to defend those rights?
Would they understand the issues the country was concerned with?
Jefferson had a plan for all this

23. He wanted to establish a system of public education to help farmers better understand & defend their rights & freedoms

24. Did they follow a “loose construction” of the Constitution, like the Federalists?
Nope. Just the opposite.
They followed a “strict construction” to try to increase the power & independence of state gov’ts

25. only had the powers that the Constitution said it had
By following a “strict construction,” they believed that the national gov’t
only had the powers that the Constitution said it had

26. While the Federalists wanted the gov’t to support the growth of cities, etc.,
The D-Rs opposed the growth of cities, trade, businesses, & industries
Jefferson actually saw cities as evil places

27. George Washington, Alexander Hamilton
Major Federalists:
George Washington, Alexander Hamilton
Major Democratic-Republicans:
Thomas Jefferson, James Madison

28. How did the 2 parties get people in the U. S
How did the 2 parties get people in the U.S. to follow/join/agree with them?
The press (newspapers) played a huge role
American newspapers had been very political since colonial times
In the 1790s, the number of newspapers
more than doubled

29. The new political parties were quick to sponsor newspapers
that followed their viewpoints
Each party had a national newspaper that helped shape public opinion to fit their mold

30. During Washington’s second term, the 2 parties battled for control of Congress
The Democratic-Republicans ended up winning the majority of seats in
the House of Representatives

31. rival political parties
In the presidential election of 1796, candidates sought office for the first time as members of
rival political parties
The Federalists’ choice was John Adams (VP Thomas Pinckney)
The D-Rs’ choice was
Thomas Jefferson (VP Aaron Burr)

32. According to the Constitution, the presidency & vice presidency would go to the 2 candidates with the most electoral votes

33. John Adams (Federalist) won the most electoral votes (71)
Jefferson won the second-most (68)
This meant that the President & VP came from
opposing political parties

34. The political oops was:
The election process back then made it possible for the President and Vice President to be from opposing political parties

35. The question was… Would this combination unite the 2 parties?
Or would it make governing the country nearly impossible because
the 2 leaders disagreed on almost every major issue?