Wednesday, February 24, 2016

What were the major points or characteristic of the positions between the Federalist and Democratic-Republican parties?During the time of...

The emergence of political parties was a critical element that arises in the administrations which follow Washington's.  In his farewell address, Washington warned against the factionalization which might emerge through political parties, but his points were not followed as two major parties grew out of the political scene at the time.  The Federalists were a party that believed in the strength of a federal government and believed that power should rest in this body.  They were the individuals who, at the Constitutional Convention, stressed that the notion of being able to exercise law and order and a level of centralized control was more important than sovereignty of the states.  Federalists were pro- business and industrial growth, and were favored by most of the wealthy at the time.  This side was placed in stark contrast to the Republicans, who believed in smaller forms of government on a more local level and also argued that agricultural expressions of the good were more advantageous to the character of America than a business model.  The freedom of states to be left alone from the federal body were of critical importance to the Republicans.


We can see this stressed in a couple of arenas.  Hamilton, being a Federalist, believed in the power and strength of a national bank as a way to offset the economic challenges faced by the new nation.  Jefferson, a Republican, went against this in his notion that a federalized bank would take from the independent autonomy of individual states.  At the same time, the belief of unifying both parties was present in Jefferson's Inauguration.  At the same time, one could see some very strong Republican elements at play.  The fact that Jefferson walked to his inauguration, as opposed to riding in an elaborate carriage, and that he stood against individuals bowing to him as deference attempted to illuminate the Republican principle of a lack of hierarchy.

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