Emergence of Political Parties in Early America

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In America after the American Revolution and after the ratifying of the first Constitution two political parties emerged. These parties emerged because of conflicting philosophical ideals amongst people of the nation. The two parties were the Federalists and the Republicans.

The Federalists were those who had the general belief in a strong central government and believed in a nation centered around trade and industry. The Republicans believed that the central government should be a not as predominant and America should be a country centered around agriculture and farming.

For a long time the Federalists, with their main leader Alexander Hamilton, dominated government because of the strong influence men of this party had there. Also given the fact that George Washington was president and tended to be more of a Federalist, this gave the Federalist party more influence in the government. Under the Federalist reign the national debt and the national bank were created as a part of Hamilton's plan. The Federalists truly created a nation in which the government is a part of both the political and financial aspects of life.

Naturally there was opposition to this way of running the country and Hamilton's plan. This is how the Republican party emerged and became stronger. Men like Thomas Jefferson and James Madison believed that the government was becoming too involved and was creating a dangerous governmental system.

This conflict then produced the two party system with the Republicans on one side and the Federalists on the other. In the end the Federalists had the hold on government for the early parts of America's history.

Which set of ideals is more correct the Federalists or the Republicans?

Although the Federalists made mistakes in how they handled issues of disagreements, the Federalists did what they needed to to get the country standing strong. The Federalists developed on the government outlined by the Constitution and aspects of this government withstood the the test of time.

With this being true, the Federalists also encountered many problems while in governmental power. The first major problem was the lack of control over the Western States. An example of this lack of control was the Whiskey Rebellion. As a part of Hamilton's plan he instituted a excise tax. Farmers in Pennsylvania refused to pay this tax and revolted this was called the Whiskey Rebellion. In order to stop this rebellion the Federalist government set the militia to overtake the people. The conflict never got to fighting but was this the best way to handle the rebellion? Was there a better way to deal with this uprising?

In addition to the struggle to control the outer territories, the Federalist government also faced international issues while George Washington was in office. During this time period, America faced two major problems with other countries . The first problem was the overwhelming conflict between the French and the British. In 1793 the French government went to war with the British. This presented problems among the British and America because due to the conflict with France, the British then began to seize American ships that were engaged in French trade. This problem between the Americans and the British was eventually resolved by Jay's Treaty. The other international problem that faced America was a dispute with Spain over the port of New Orleans and America's boundaries. This dispute was settled in 1795 by Pickney's Treaty.

Even though the Federalists did handle some events like the Whiskey Rebellion violently, and arguably incorrectly, they were smart in how they handled foreign relations. The Federalists made mistakes in office but they also developed a strong country and government that would last.