Preview

What Led to the Rise of Political Parties in the 1790's

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
303 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
What Led to the Rise of Political Parties in the 1790's
There are a few different reasons for the rise of political parties in the 1790’s, but the main reason is people had different views. There were many disagreements on the way that things should be interpreted from the constitution. There were two different parties, the Federalist and the Democratic Republicans.
Despite their different views of the government and the economy, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton were two great leaders in United States history. Throughout their political lives, they never stopped debating and representing what they believed in. People disagreeing with the government and the government’s different views on issues led to the rise of political parties in the 1790's.
Thomas Jefferson spoke out in the early 90's with a strict interpretation of the Constitution and his views on the bank. It is clear that powers are delegated based on the Constitution and accepting those limits is the foundation of the United States. He believes the bank is not favored by the Constitution. Jefferson obviously had different opinions than Alexander Hamilton. In 1790, Jefferson wrote, “...Hamilton was not only a monarchist, but in support of a monarchy based upon corruption” (Document 1).
Alexander Hamilton, on the other hand, has a more loose interpretation of the Constitution. He basically believes that proof is needed that the government is sovereign because, he said, “the power which can create a supreme law of the land, in any case, it doubtless sovereign as such case”. He believes that all laws made in the United States under the Constitution shall be the supreme law of the land. Hamilton also accepts the growing tension. “Mr. Jefferson is at the head of a faction, decidedly hostile to me and my administration...Mr. Jefferson displays his dislike of funding the debt...Jefferson and his supporters are unsound and dangerous...” (Document

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    America’s first two political parties began with Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. This established the three branches treasury, state, and war. Hamilton had the role of secretary of treasury which he was with the federalist while Jefferson had the role of relations with foreign countries and he was with Republicans. Jefferson believed that America would be more successful if it had agricultural traditions while on the other hand Hamilton beliefs were more economically planned through facilities. Hamilton’s ideas and the Federalists were having a stronger central government acting in interest of commerce and manufactured (like Britain).…

    • 281 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Apparently to Jefferson who was speaking for those who believe in state rights, argued that the constitution had expressly enumerate all the powers that had belonged to the federal government, which also reserved all power to the states. So far back then nowhere was it empowered to set up a bank. Jefferson believed that the federal government should not have too much power, he believed it would leave to tyranny. Hamilton and Jefferson both had to debate what the meaning of “necessary and proper” meant. Hamilton did more reading on the subject and thought that the congress should do whatever they believed was necessary to carry out the national responsibilities.…

    • 578 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Furthermore, Jefferson thought that a national bank would only grant “convenience” to the government, though “the Constitution allows only the means which are ‘necessary,’” (Jefferson, paragraph 7). The government does not need to institute a national bank only because it would be easier for them. By doing so, Jefferson thought that it would be a massive leap in Congress’s power and interfere with the necessary and proper clause of the constitution — this clause states that Congress shall have the power “to make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers,” (Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 of the Constitution). Convenience is certainly not necessary to the government, and by allowing Congress to make this leap, it’s simply unprecedented what other leaps they might make in the future.…

    • 1594 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1791 Hamilton argued that a National Bank would be of great benefit to the economy and would be the keystone of his plan for economic refinement. Jefferson was against it in every aspect.(Document A) Thomas’s logic was that the written constitution was not a wall of rules for the states but rather a wall to contain the federal government. Thomas perceived it as the confines the federal government had to work within; no more no less. Madison described it as a constitutional charter of constructs.(Document C) Thomas debates that the powers left unaddressed by the constitution are given to the states; Thomas uses the tenth amendment as evidence for his argument against the national bank.(Document A) However, a national bank is set up anyways, but it expires once its twenty charter is up. Hamilton wanted a consistent neutrality for the United States to express internationally as part of his plan. Britain was a crucial trade partner with America and would be needed once peacetime had begun and routine trade could begin. Jefferson and Madison believed isolation was the proper way to go; even in 1808 Jefferson passed the Embargo Act shutting all trade ports to other countries.(Document F) Jefferson saw trade as a source of conflict and a gateway to wars, which was not wrong. Alexander wanted neutrality to keep international trade so the economy would thrive. Jefferson was already in favor of complete isolation from any other country in any sort of manner.(Document D) Jefferson would argue against Hamilton over the topic of isolation versus neutrality. Jefferson believed that international trade and tariffs were unnecessary to the nation however tariffs were strongly supported by the federalists.(Document H) These taxes federalists would pass were planned to help pay for…

    • 1328 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Conflict over foreign and domestic policies between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson led to the development of two political parties. Although the Jeffersonian-Democratic were strict constructionist and the Federalists were loose constructionists, both failed to be consistent and chose whichever interpretation that better served their interests at the time.…

    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    They both stood for opposing political sides, Hamilton a solid federalist, while Jefferson was an anti-federalist, or republican. Their political differences helped shaped their separate images clearly throughout history. Hamilton believed that a strong central government was the key to the government’s success and had a loose interpretation of the constitution and thus concurred that civil liberties and other aspects of the constitution should at times, be restricted. Jefferson believed in a strict version of the constitution, he opposed of Hamilton’s creation of the national bank and believed it to be unconstitutional. As key additions to the government, they also had a different outlook on the people of the country. Jefferson maintained faith in the people, yet distrusted special privilege among them. Hamilton however, believed that the power should rest in the wealthy and educated and wished to raise voting qualifications. Economically, Hamilton wanted a solid balance of agriculture, trade, and manufacturing to nurture the country. Jefferson on the other hand, believed that agriculture alone should be the backbone of our economy. He believed that states alone should manage their economic growth without the government stepping in or helping, whereas Hamilton thought the opposite. He believed in the creation of the national bank and internal taxation, brought forth by the central government.…

    • 356 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, were advocating for the importance of a strong central government around the turn of the century. Many including Hamilton understood the struggles they faced in wartime a few decades prior. The possibility of eventual failure in anyway led federalists to this previous conclusion. The former ruling document, The Articles of Confederation, and its corrupt often-conflicting policies concerning economic structure of the country prompted Hamilton to turn to loose construction relating to the constitution. Through this new policy of loose construction and by using their own interpretations of 9th amendment regarding the control of banks, Hamilton and the Federalist fashioned a National Bank of the United States. One of Hamilton’s many successes; the bank bolstered the U.S. economy. It allowed the government to uphold their control over issues in individual states. Generated a new sense of power, efficiency, freedom and security for the entirety of the nation. Finally, to…

    • 501 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The political parties formed after the ratification of the constitution at George Washington's detest, contributed none to the development of national unity there was a lack of unity during the period of 1790-1840. The political parties originally formed were the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans. Their ideals for how government should be run were highly different and this led to no unification.…

    • 350 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Their views on human nature, form of government, ideal economy, the Constitution, etc, were nowhere near similar. For instance, the two leaders’ viewpoint on the best form of government were distinct from each other. I think that Hamilton and Jefferson should have combined both of their perspectives together to create the best government they could. Both of them had good ideas on how it should be run or by who. However, one was strong and the other was a little weak. Hamilton’s view on the government to me is a cliche. When it comes to running a country or even a small business, the only people who are believed to run them the best are rich, intelligent men. If you think about it thoroughly, these men probably didn’t start out wealthy until they were given jobs and became greedy with the money they earned. I think men would have to be smart, but don’t have to be wealthy to run a government or business. Jefferson had a very unique view on government. I thought it was clever to have a government that isn’t so strict so the people could enjoy their freedom, while Hamilton wanted a strong government. The only thing that could go wrong with Jefferson’s government, is eventually people will start to take advantage of all the freedom they have, which could lead to chaos in the…

    • 768 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    After the Founding Fathers ratified the Constitution, they realized that they had to deal with sixty-three million dollars debt that they owed to those who took part in the American Revolution. In order to pay back this debt Alexander Hamilton created a financial program. However, some Republicans such as Thomas Jefferson and James Madison thought that his plan was unconstitutional because one would need to use the necessary and proper clause which most people feared because it gave the government too much power. This, however, is not so Alexander Hamilton’s financial plan however was mostly constitutional because it allowed it to use the powers as well as responsibilities congress already had such as print its own form of currency, issue taxes, and ultimately pay off debts. Hamilton’s financial plan can be broken down to four parts the taxation, national bank, Hamilton’s reports, and the assumption plan all four were within his rights to do so.…

    • 739 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Not all of the kinks had been worked out of it yet, and it still needed some fine tuning. This is why Hamilton's loose constructionist ideas were better than the strict constructionist ideas of Jefferson. There obviously things in the Constitution that had been missed, or written confusingly. This is why a loose interpretation must have been taken of the Constitution at the time. Jefferson felt that it was already perfect, but it was not. The Constitution did not provide for a cabinet, political parties, or a bank, but all three of them have proven to be important parts of our country. The idea of a bank is a good example of how loose constructionist theory is important. We needed money in order to pay off the debt we had gotten from the war. If we had interpreted the Constitution as saying that a bank was unconstitutional just because it wasn't in the Constitution, we would have never been able to begin to make money back to pay off the…

    • 974 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many of things lead to the start of the two party system and they were highly influenced by Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. People that lived in different areas had different views about different issues because of this it lead to the two party system some people believed in one and the other people believed in another. People that owned land and grew crops tended to side with Jefferson or the Republicans and people that didn’t own land tended to side with Hamilton or the Federalists. Washington was strongly against the two party system because of the reason that the country might split.…

    • 307 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Alexander Hamilton, one of the most important people of the time, was the first Secretary of the Treasury. Utilizing federal power to modernize the nation, he convinced Congress to use an elastic interpretation of the Constitution to pass laws that Jefferson deemed unconstitutional. These laws included federal assumption of the state debts, creation of a national bank, and a system of taxes through a tariff on imports and a tax on whiskey. Hamilton was also the creator of the Federalist Party. In contrast, Thomas Jefferson was born to a wealthy family but was nonetheless an anti-federalist. He was sympathetic towards the poor people and advocated state’s rights.…

    • 937 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    By 1809

    • 504 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the early years of the United States (US), two political parties formed. These two parties were the Democrat Republicans and the Federalists. By 1809, the US had transitioned through both parties. Many Democratic Republican goals were fulfilled by Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson was the president of the US at the time. Because of these the Democrat Republicans were stronger in American politics in the US. The Democrat Republicans prevailed in American politics through expansion to the west, reduced the debt of the US, and revising the Federalist like aspects of the government.…

    • 504 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Jefferson vs. Hamilton

    • 2046 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Jefferson and Hamilton had two very different views on politics. Many clear thinking Americans could tell you at least some facts about Thomas Jefferson. Far fewer would likely have an idea of who Alexander Hamilton was and what he provided as a Founding Father. Yet his idea of an American government was just as important as that of Jefferson. Both Jefferson and Hamilton foresaw the new nation as a future power, and both had very different ways to get it there. Jefferson believed the nation’s strengths lay in its agricultural roots. He favored an agrarian nation with most powers reserved for the states. He was very opposed to a sturdy central authority and believed that the citizens were the final…

    • 2046 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays