The First Political Parties. Parties in the United States An organized group of people with similar...
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Transcript of The First Political Parties. Parties in the United States An organized group of people with similar...
The First Political Parties
Parties in the United States
- An organized group of people with similar political ideas.
- The first political parties were not the Democrats and Republicans.
Opposing Parties
- Even though most people liked Washington while he was president, some people did not.
- Typically supporters of Jefferson
- Jefferson’s supporters attacked Washington in hopes to weaken Hamilton
- However, no parties existed yet (thought it was harmful to the nation)
Partisan
- Partisan - someone who strongly favors one group over the other
- Washington believed he was not a partisan
- However he clearly sided with Hamilton most of the time
Federalist Party
- Led by Hamilton
- Believed in a strong federal government
- Believed the Constitution gave government implied powers
- implied powers - powers not listed in the Constitution but believed to belong to the federal government
- Federalists believed they could make all laws “necessary and proper”
- Wanted the nation to be a strong manufacturing nation.
Democratic-Republican Party
- Often just called Republicans (not like the modern day Republicans)
- Led by Jefferson and Madison
- Believed in a strict reading of the Constitution
- They believed that if the Constitution did not give the government a power, then the government did not have that particular power
- Rejected idea of implied power
- Wanted the nation to be an agrarian.
National Bank Debate
- Arguments over the national bank made the existence of parties evident
- Hamilton believed that since the Constitution gave the national gov’t the power to borrow money that then a bank should exist
- Republicans disagreed with Hamilton
The Role of the People
- Federalists and Republicans debated over the role of the citizens
- Federalists = wanted a representative gov’t
- Did not believe the people were smart enough to rule their own nation
- Republicans = feared a strong national gov’t
- Wanted ordinary people to be active in the gov’t
Washington’s Reaction
- Washington was nervous about the nation dividing into parties
- Tried to get Hamilton and Jefferson to solve their differences
- Both Hamilton and Jefferson resigned their positions because they were so mad at each other
Election of 1796 - Choosing Candidates
- Both parties held caucuses to decide who they would support for president.
- Caucus = a meeting of a political party to determine their candidates for the election
- Each party chose 2 candidates (total of 4) and electors would pick 2 for president
- Candidate with most votes = President
- Candidate with second most votes = Vice-President
- Federalists = John Adams and Charles Pinckney
- Republicans = Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr
Election of 1796
Adams - 71 - PresidentJefferson - 68 - VP
Pinckney/Burr - 0
Issue with the electoral system
- President Adams was a federalist
- Vice-President Jefferson was an anti-federalist
- How might this cause issues if the President and Vice-President are from different parties?
John Adams as President
- Adams worked in government most of his life
- Attended the Continental Congress
- Helped with foreign relations
- Served as Vice-President for Washington for 2 terms
The XYZ Affair
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw0KcA59_8s
The XYZ Affair
- French thought Jay’s Treaty was America’s way of supporting Britain in the conflict between France and Britain
- France as a result attacked American ships trading with Britain
- Adams sent diplomats to Paris to try to solve the problem
- French would not meet with America unless we paid them a bribe
- Adams urged Congress to prepare for war and was furious with the French diplomats he called “X,Y, and Z”!
Alien and Sedition Acts- Public was furious that the French demanded a bribe
- Became suspicious of aliens - a.k.a. people who lived in the U.S. but were not citizens
- Citizens wondered if French aliens would remain loyal to U.S. if they went to war with France
- Federalists passed the Alien and Sedition Acts
- Sedition = Anti-government activities
- Act allowed president to imprison or deport aliens
Issues
- Republicans saw Alien and Sedition Acts as the Federalists taking too much power
- Madison and Jefferson wrote protests against these acts
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions of 1798
- These resolutions called the Alien and Sedition Acts unconstitutional
- Said states would not enforce these laws
- Kentucky Resolution - said states could nullify(cancel) laws that states thought were unconstitutional
Possible War With France
- Federalists still wanted Adams to declare war
- Adams instead sent a representative to seek peace with France
- In 1800 the French signed a treaty to stop attacking U.S. ships
- Hamilton and some other Federalists disagreed with Adams’ decision and split the party right before the election
- Looks like the Republicans may have a good shot at winning the White House.