Hamilton & Madison's Role in the First American Political Parties
The role Alexander Hamilton and James Madison played on the first political parties.
Alexander Hamilton and James Madison were both very important political figures in the early years of our nation and their paths led them to two different political factions, The Federalist Party and the Democratic Republican Party, respectively.
The years after the American Revolution were very hard on most Americans. The former colonies had huge debts to pay off from the war and the soldiers of the Continental Army, most of them farmers, returned home to find their farms in desperate need of renovation. With no money, increasing taxes and no way to pay off their debts, the farmers became desperate. They pleaded with the courts to give leniency on their debt re-payment, but their requests were hardly heard mostly unanswered. These factors led to Shay’s Rebellion, an upheaval of the American farmers in Massachusetts against the debtors courts and local governments. Shay’s Rebellion is important in American history because it convinced people that strong local governments were not able to effectively manage large national problems and that a strong national government could stabilize the currency, control and levy taxes and maintain public order. The writing of the Constitution was a direct result of these beliefs.
The Constitutional Convention commenced in May of 1787 and was represented by fifty-five men from twelve states (Rhode Island was missing.) The Constitution was written over the next five months and was sent to the states for ratification. This is the period of time in history when we first see two different “sides” emerge. There were two groups of people who came out of the Convention, supporters of the Constitution (Federalists) and those who opposed it (Anti-Federalists.)
The first faction, the Federalists were composed of many of the famed Founding Fathers, including Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. They believed in a strong central government with
Alexander Hamilton and James Madison were both very important political figures in the early years of our nation and their paths led them to two different political factions, The Federalist Party and the Democratic Republican Party, respectively.
The years after the American Revolution were very hard on most Americans. The former colonies had huge debts to pay off from the war and the soldiers of the Continental Army, most of them farmers, returned home to find their farms in desperate need of renovation. With no money, increasing taxes and no way to pay off their debts, the farmers became desperate. They pleaded with the courts to give leniency on their debt re-payment, but their requests were hardly heard mostly unanswered. These factors led to Shay’s Rebellion, an upheaval of the American farmers in Massachusetts against the debtors courts and local governments. Shay’s Rebellion is important in American history because it convinced people that strong local governments were not able to effectively manage large national problems and that a strong national government could stabilize the currency, control and levy taxes and maintain public order. The writing of the Constitution was a direct result of these beliefs.
The Constitutional Convention commenced in May of 1787 and was represented by fifty-five men from twelve states (Rhode Island was missing.) The Constitution was written over the next five months and was sent to the states for ratification. This is the period of time in history when we first see two different “sides” emerge. There were two groups of people who came out of the Convention, supporters of the Constitution (Federalists) and those who opposed it (Anti-Federalists.)
The first faction, the Federalists were composed of many of the famed Founding Fathers, including Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. They believed in a strong central government with
Bibliography: John Mack Faragher, Mari Jo Buhle, Daniel Czitrom, Susan H. Armitage. Out of Many Sixth Edition, Volume 1, (2009) http://www.foundingfathers.info, The Federalist Papers Online http://www.foundingfathers.info, Founding Father Family Trees and Bios