Rise of Political Parties

How did America divide into political parties? George Washington ran uncontested for his two terms as President, but that spirit of unanimity was not to last. Competing interests soon drove wedges between Americans. Like the Whigs and Tories of England before them, the Federalists and Democrat-Republicans arose to create the American two party system.

Fig. 1 - Thomas Jefferson

Whigs and Tories

The earliest version of political factions were the English Whigs and Tories, who argued over religion and Monarchism. Although these groups formed the basis for the sort of factionalism that would develop into political parties, they are not the kind of organized parties that we would recognize today. It is important to remember that until their recent past, the founding fathers had been British subjects.

Most of the people in the colonies had considered themselves to be more British than having a unique identity as Americans. The Whigs and Tories would have been an example of the sort of factionalism that George Washington warned about in his farewell address.

Hamilton and Jefferson

As President, George Washington struggled to force two of his cabinet members, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, to get along. Their dislike was as much personal as it was political. Hamilton found the subtle Jefferson to be sneaky and underhanded, while Jefferson perceived the direct Hamilton to be overbearing. Hamilton believed in developing urban manufacturing through the creation of a central bank. Jefferson idealized a bucolic agrarian America, considering the central bank to be a tool of the wealthy elite for the exploitation of the people. Jefferson even accused Hamilton of being a Monarchist, intent on eroding the Republican system of government.

Federalist Party

Before Washington could even leave office, the first American political party was founded by Alexander Hamilton in 1789. Well organized, supported by bankers and businessmen, and led by Hamilton, the party found early success dominating American politics. Their views may seem strange to Americans today, as strong central government was viewed as an elite pro-business stance. Through central banking and high tariffs, federalists sought to encourage American manufacturing and modernization.

Fig.2 - Alexander Hamilton

Federalist Beliefs

• Federalism
• Support for England over France
• Centralization
• National banking
• Industrialization
• Protectionism

Democratic-Republican Party

Hamilton's rival Thomas Jefferson worked with James Madison to found the Democratic-Republican Party in 1792, as an organized opposition to the Federalist Party. The party believed that the economic policies put forth by Hamilton were aimed primarily at helping the Northern states. The Southern states, with their agrarian economies, heavily resented the policies. Additionally, Democrat-Republicans held firm to supporting the French Revolution, while Federalists grew perturbed at the revolutionary violence occurring in France.

Democrat-Republican Beliefs

• Limited government
• States rights
• Populism
• Support for France over Britain

Two Party System

Although both parties were in existence by 1792, it was the 1796 election that was the first truly partisan presidential election. Reforms to the manner by which the President is elected only increased partisanship for the 1800 election. Although the Federalist Party would emerge victorious in the first contested US Presidential election, they would not do so again and ultimately be dissolved in 1835. Struggle between parties continued until the Era of Good Feelings arrived in 1815, to briefly end partisanship until 1825. From then on, America continually had contentious, organized political parties.

Election of 1796

In the first contested Presidential election, rules conceived before the formation of political parties resulted in a strange pairing. Federalist John Adams was elected as President and his Democrat-Republican rival, Thomas Jefferson, was elected as Vice President. This was because the system at the time allowed every elector to cast two votes for the office of President, with the runner-up being named as Vice President. As a consequence of the mismatch, Jefferson was in a position to undermine Adams as President.

Fig.3 - John Adams

1796 Campaign

Even this first contested election was focused on just a small amount of swing states. In this case, they were New York and Pennsylvania. Partisan owned newspapers presented smear campaigns, making claims that Jefferson was an atheist or that Hamilton was trying to turn the US into a monarchy.

1800 Election

In 1800, the lessons of 1796 had been learned, and each party nominated a ticket containing both a Presidential and Vice Presidential candidate. Joining Jefferson was another personal enemy of Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, who would go on to kill Hamilton in a duel a short time later. Despite the ticket nomination, Jefferson and Burr receiving the same number of votes necessitated a second election in the House of Representatives to break the tie and name one as President. While many Federalists favored Burr over Jefferson, Hamilton was able to pull enough votes to Jefferson to put him over the top. Hamilton and Jefferson may have hated each other, but Hamilton had an even stronger personal dislike of Burr, which ultimately turned deadly.

1800 Campaign

The campaign of 1800 continued the personal attacks that had been made in 1796. The Federalists were weakened by interparty strife, as Adams had largely ignored and marginalized Hamilton while in office. Federalists' high taxes, attacks on free speech through the Alien and Sedition acts, and alignment with Britain all played a role as well.