In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the American political system was divided into two major parties, the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists (later the Democratic-Republicans). The Anti-Federalists were quite liberal whereas the Fedaralists believed in a more conservative form of government. Because of this reason, the Fedaralists were a sort of "half way house"ÃÂ between the Parliament-ruled past and the Anti-Federalist future.
The main reasons that the Federalist system was seen as an intermediary between the Parliament of Britain and the Anti-Federalist that would take over the country were the beliefs held by these individuals, and the laws passed by them based on these beliefs. One example of these laws was Alexander Hamilton's National Bank. This plan was modeled from on the National Bank of England. In fact, many of Hamilton's ideas were influenced by British ideas and institutions.
Another way that the Federalists were a "half way house"ÃÂ between the British and the Anti-Federalists was the way that they believed in a powerful centralized government.
The Articles of Confederation, ratified in 1781. T...
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1st Senate composition 1 3A great example of a strong centralized government of the time period was the government of Great Britain.. Parliament had power, and the power was all in one place. Although the Federalists had many things in common with the British, they also had a few things in common with the Anti-Federalists.
The major belief shared by both of the major American political parties was the belief that the most important thing was that the states were united somehow. Althought they both had different thoughts on how this should exactly be done, the principal belief was still the same.
In conclusion, the Federalists shared many beliefs with both the British and the Anti-Federalists. They were the half-way point between America's past, and America's future.
1st Senate composition 2
Oil on canvas portrait of Alexander Hamilton by Jo...
2nd Senate composition