First U.S. Political Parties
The First U.S. Political Parties emerged in a context where the Founding Fathers did not foresee the rise of such factions, with the Constitution not accounting for them. Initially, the political landscape was divided between Federalists, who favored a strong central government, and Antifederalists, who advocated for state powers. The debates surrounding the ratification of the Constitution set the stage for the development of political parties, particularly influenced by differing views on economic and foreign policies during George Washington's presidency. Key figures, including James Madison, who initially viewed factions as detrimental, found themselves leading one of the new parties, namely the Republican Party.
The contentious debate over issues like Alexander Hamilton's economic programs highlighted growing divisions within Congress, leading to the formation of a party nucleus primarily composed of Southern opposition. The emergence of strong sentiments around the French Revolution further exposed these divisions, with regional preferences influencing alliances—New Englanders tended to align with pro-British sentiments, while Southerners often expressed support for revolutionary France. The ratification of Jay's Treaty acted as a catalyst for party mobilization, allowing opposition forces to organize more effectively. By 1796, with the presidential election between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, the seeds for a two-party system were sown, although its permanence remained uncertain at this early stage of American political development.
First U.S. Political Parties
Date 1790’s
Philosophical and practical differences led leaders of the United States to form the first political parties—the Federalists, who generally opposed the Constitution, and the Republicans, who mostly supported the Constitution—to advance their interests and ideals.
Locale Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Key Figures
John Adams (1735-1826), vice president, 1789-1797, and president, 1797-1801Albert Gallatin (1761-1849), a congressman from Pennsylvania and Republican leaderAlexander Hamilton (1755-1804), a secretary of the treasury, 1789-1795Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), secretary of state, 1790-1793, and later vice president and president, 1801-1809James Madison (1751-1836), a congressman from Virginia, a Republican leader, and later president, 1809-1817George Washington (1732-1799), first president of the United States, 1789-1797
Summary of Event
The Founding Fathers did not anticipate the development of political parties in the United States, and the Constitution made no provision for them. James Madison, in writing The Federalist number 10, discussed factions (parties) in detail and considered them to be a disease in the body politic. Madison feared the rise of factions, stating, “When a majority is included in a faction, the form of popular government . . . enables it to sacrifice to its ruling passion or interest both the public good and the rights of other citizens.” He clearly believed that parties were sources of turbulence, oppression, and corruption. Madison argued that one of the blessings of the Constitution would be its applicability to the control of factions. He believed that a federal and representative form of government operating in a country of vast size would make it impossible for permanent majorities to form. Ironically, within four years Madison became the congressional leader of one of the two political parties contending for power in the United States.
Parties arose in the United States in response to the economic and foreign policies of the Washington administration. By the end of the debate over Jay’s Treaty (1794) in 1796, parties were operating. In tracing their origin, it is necessary to begin with the debate over ratification of the Constitution.
Although there are certain exceptions, those who supported ratification of the Constitution generally became Federalists, and those who opposed the Constitution became Republicans. The most important exception was Madison himself, the “father of the Constitution” and also a founder of the Republican (now Democratic) Party. Patrick Henry, who opposed the Constitution, became a firm Federalist during the Washington administration. For the most part, Washington appointed men who had strongly advocated ratification, while congressional support for Washington’s programs derived from the same source.
The debates over Alexander Hamilton’s economic programs provided the first serious indication that a strong and vocal opposition existed in Congress. The nucleus for a party was to be found in this opposition, composed mainly of men from the South. Madison opposed the funding of the national debt, the assumption by the federal government of the states’ war debts, and the creation of a national bank for two reasons: The legislation favored the North more than it did the South, and, because the power to charter the bank was not one of the enumerated powers of Congress in the Constitution, it was unconstitutional. Madison and others were able to unite their sectional fears with strict construction of the Constitution into a general states’ rights philosophy that became the ideological arm of the Republican Party. At this stage of development, although factions existed in Congress supporting or opposing Hamilton’s program, parties in a national sense did not exist.
Progress in the organization of parties at the national level and the growth of support at the local level came basically from two sources: implementation and funding of Hamilton’s program, and divisions arising from the outbreak of the French Revolution and the ensuing revolutionary wars.
First, paying off the national debt placed an enormous burden on the nation, requiring a tax policy that caused complaints. In particular, the excise tax on whiskey sparked a small uprising in western Pennsylvania. Troops were sent in to crush the rioting, men were arrested, and popular indignation drew many into opposition to Washington’s administration. The government was criticized as oppressing the poor to aid the rich.
Second, these domestic tensions were coupled with differences that appeared as the French Revolution emerged in Europe and soon plunged the Continent into war. Americans, while basically neutral, openly expressed preferences for either the French or the British. Many people in the United States immediately experienced a psychological association with the idealism of the French Revolution. Others, more conservative, looked to Great Britain as the last bulwark of stability and order against the turbulence of the democratic masses. Hamilton, for example, was outspoken in his preference for Great Britain and his abhorrence of the French Revolution. Thomas Jefferson, however, openly sympathized with the French.
The coincidence of his opposition to Hamilton’s economic policies, his attitudes toward the French Revolution, and his sectional residence was striking. New Englanders were generally pro-British and pro-Hamilton. Southerners were generally pro-French and anti-Hamilton. In the middle states, where sectional feeling was less strong, the division was often East-West rather than North-South. Men from western Pennsylvania, such as Albert Gallatin, fell into the anti-administration ranks, as did western New Yorkers, while the seaboard was pro-administration. The divisions were much less clear-cut, however, in the middle states than in the South or in New England.
Significance
Jay’s Treaty was the catalyst of party formation. All the elements were present. A momentous issue was necessary for the bonding. The reaction to the treaty was sharp and violent, and widespread opposition appeared at both national and local levels. The debate raged in the year prior to the presidential election, and Washington’s decision to step down provided the opportunity for individuals opposed to his administration to gather forces in an effort to replace those in power. Opposition to the great Washington was dangerous and almost impossible, but John Adams presented no such problems. In 1796, Thomas Jefferson, running as a Republican, contested with Adams for the nation’s first position. Parties were formed but, as the next four years would prove, their permanency was not guaranteed. A two-party system was not yet customary, and there were men in power who preferred the existence of a single party—the party to which they belonged.
Bibliography
Aldrich, John H. Why Politics? The Origin and Transformation of Political Parties in America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995. A history of politics and parties in the United States. Chapter 3 focuses on the founding of the first political parties.
Banning, Lance. Conceived in Liberty: The Struggle to Define the New Republic, 1789-1793. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2004. Analyzes the dispute among Adams, Hamilton, Madison, and Jefferson about the future direction of American government that led to the creation of the first political parties.
Ben-Atar, Doron, and Barbara B. Oberg, eds. Federalists Reconsidered. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1998. Collection of essays about federalism. Part two examines federalism and the origins of American political culture.
Brenner, Lenni. The Lesser Evil. Secaucus, N.J.: Lyle Stuart, 1988. Traces the history of the Democratic Party, the oldest continuous political institution in the world, from its beginnings under Jefferson and Madison during the first Washington administration. The study is not entirely favorable, but it does reveal the party’s enduring strengths.
Cunningham, Nobel. In Pursuit of Reason: The Life of Thomas Jefferson. New York: Ballantine Books, 1988. The public career of Jefferson, founder of the Democratic Party, is explored and presented in a manner accessible to the general reader.
Ellis, Joseph. Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams. New York: W. W. Norton, 1993. John Adams, a leading figure of the Federalist Party, is one of the enigmatic figures of U.S. history. This work presents his career in a sympathetic light.
Hoadley, John F. Origins of American Political Parties, 1789-1803. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1986. An evenhanded, comprehensive review of the turbulent period that saw the emergence of political parties (“factions,” as Madison termed them) and their enduring influence on public life in the United States.
Reichley, A. James. The Life of the Parties: A History of American Political Parties. New York: Free Press, 1992. A popular review of the party system in the United States with an informative section on its origins during the early years of the republic.