The Emergence of Two Political Parties USI.7c Date ______
The new government of the United States went to work in 1789. One of the first tasks was to elect the nation’s first president. George Washington, a popular and respected leader was chosen. In the spring of 1789, he took the oath of office and began to select a group of men to help him carry out the responsibilities of the executive branch. This group is called the Cabinet.
Almost immediately, two of Washington’s top advisors began to quarrel. ThomasJefferson and Alexander Hamilton disagreed about many problems facing the new nation. Their main dispute, or argument, was over the role of the national government. Soon their quarrel reached the floor of Congress. Representatives and Senators began voting together in groups to support their side of the argument. These groups soon became our nation’s first political parties.
Alexander Hamilton’s followers called themselves the Federalists. They favored a strong national government and wanted restrictions, or limits, placed on the powers of the states. They believed that a weak central government would result in the same problems faced under the Articles of Confederation.The Federalists also favored the development of industry on a national scale. They believed that the United States needed to be an industrial nation to compete with Europe, and pushed for more tariffs and taxes to protect growing industries.The Federalists also supported a national bank to help restore national credit and repay individual state and foreign debts resulting from the Revolutionary War period.
Thomas Jefferson’s followers called themselves the Democratic Republicans. They favored a weaker federal government, with most of the powers of government assigned to the states.They believed that the individual states would protect the rights of the common man better than a large, impersonal national government. Because of their concerns for the average citizen, they also supported an economy based largely on small business and agriculture instead of big business and industry.In addition, they opposed the formation of a national bank. Thomas Jefferson believed that the power to establish a national bank had not been given to the national government by the Constitution.
Although political parties have undergone many changes since 1789, the debate over the role of the national government has continued in the halls of Congress and across the nation.
Comparison of Jefferson and Hamilton – Create a Venn Diagram that compares and contrasts these 2 important men and the parties they created.