The development of political parties

The formation of the Political Parties

"Why can't we all just get along?" Is a famous quote from the lawyer Rodney King, it may be very new in nature but in all actuality it has very deep roots. Back in the revolutionary time period between 1788 and 1800 there was a lot of arguing and verbal fighting going on in America. The loose Articles of Confederation had just been scrapped and the stricter Federal Constitution was now in place causing a big ordeal of fighting between the federalists led by Andrew Hamilton and the Anti-Federalists led by Thomas Jefferson. These two factions would soon form the two political parties which are still in effect today. These two parties did not just appear out of the blue; political, economic, foreign and democratic factors all played a role in the development of the two separate political parties.

Politically the Federalists were a powerful and wealthy party.

Hamilton Panorama

Oil on canvas portrait of Alexander Hamilton by Jo...

English: The Federalist Party Logo

Mostly lawyers, big businessmen, bankers, merchants, and professionals made up the Federalist Party. The Federalists had a lot of money and were mostly influential in New England and the North part of the United States because big business was very popular there. The Federalist Party consisted of people who were very much Anglophiles. They loved Britain and all things British. The Federalists felt that there should be a loose constructionist interpretation of the constitution. They believed that there were things implied by or simply understood by the wording of the Constitution. According to the Federalists, just because something was not specifically written in the Constitution doesn't mean that it wasn't covered or addressed as something that the federal government could handle. The Federalist Party also supported a strong governmental leadership. They thought that the most important branch of government was the executive branch, and that a...