The First Political Parties The US Constitution does not mention political parties The document’s writers distrusted parties When they wrote the Constitution the United States had just won its freedom from Britain Independence came after the American Revolution 1775 1783 Some leaders worried disagreements might cause the new government to crumble President George Washington advised against forming factions or parties Parties arose because people had differing ideas Alexander Hamilton believed in a strong national government In 1787 his followers began calling themselves PERSPECTIVES Opposing Views George Washington and John Adams disapproved of political parties Thomas Jefferson believed otherwise He wrote in support of parties He felt their disagreements would help make the country better 6
Federalists Democratic-Republicans Founded circa 1791 1794 dissolved 1824 Founded circa 1791 1798 dissolved 1825 Led by Alexander Hamilton Led by Thomas Jefferson Favored strong federal government Favored power remaining with the states Focused on manufacturing and commerce Focused on planters and farmers Support centered in New England states Support centered in South and West The First Political Parties This chart shows the differences between the first two political parties in the United States What can you tell about the parties regions based on the parties political beliefs the Federalists The Federalists became the first US political party Thomas Jefferson disagreed with Hamilton He wanted local and state governments to hold most of 7
the power Jefferson and James Madison formed a party to oppose the Federalists This party became known as the Democratic-Republicans John Adams ran as a Federalist Party candidate for president in 1796 He ran against Jefferson Adams won Jefferson won the next presidential election in 1800 This marked the first peaceful exchange of power between two parties US Political Parties Today These two parties have since died out Many others have risen in their places For most of US history there have been two main parties Today they are the Republican Party and the Democratic Party Smaller parties are called third parties One of the largest is the Green Party It focuses on environmental issues The Libertarian Party is another third party It focuses on individual rights and less government control Factions sometimes form within parties The Tea Party is a faction within the Republican Party Since 8
Ballots for Democratic and Republican presidential candidates sit on a sign-in table in New Hampshire on February 9 2016 9
