First Party System

Political parties are groups that support different political positions. Today they are a regular part of political life in the United States, but they have not always existed.

Parties first formed in the 1790s, after George Washington was elected president. Washington wrote about political parties in 1796. Read Washington's words.

[Let me] warn you, in the most solemn manner, against the baneful effects of [parties].

solemn: serious

baneful: harmful, destructive

What did other people think about parties in the late 18th century?

Like Washington, many Americans were suspicious of parties.

In this cartoon from around 1800, the two men on the ground represent the two political parties that had developed in the 1790s. They are pulling on pillars of a structure representing the government. From heaven, George Washington reminds the party representatives that to protect liberty and independence, all three pillars of the government need to remain standing.

Why is it called a party?

When they were first developing, political parties were often called "factions" or "sects." Eventually, the term "party" came into regular use to describe these groups.

"Party" comes from the Latin "partire/partiri," which can mean "to divide."

Why do you think people came to use the term "party" to describe political groups that wanted the government to act in different ways?

The Federalist Party first developed in support of certain beliefs held by Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury.

Look at the table, which describes common characteristics of people who supported the Federalist Party. Federalists often . . .

• • believed in a strong federal, or national, government

  • lived in northeastern states, where there was a growing business and manufacturing economy

  • wanted the U.S. to have a friendly relationship with Great Britain

  • believed that the Constitution gave the federal government the right to set up a national bank

Were the Federalists of the 1790s the first people to call themselves "Federalists"?

No! There were people who called themselves Federalists during the debates over the ratification, or approval, of the U.S. Constitution. Federalists at that time supported ratification of the Constitution. Like the Federalists of the 1790s, they also supported a strong federal government.

Alexander Hamilton was a Federalist during the debates over ratification. Over time, the term Federalist was used to describe people who supported Hamilton's ideas about how the country should be run after the Constitution was ratified.

The Democratic-Republican Party developed in support of the ideas of two people: Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, who were both important leaders and future U.S. presidents. Look below, which describes common characteristics of people who supported the Democratic-Republican Party.

Democratic-Republicans often . . .

• believed that states should have more power than the federal government

• believed that the United States should support France more than Great Britain

• were farmers, and believed that the United States should support the growth of agriculture more than manufacturing

• believed that the Constitution did not give the federal government the right to establish a national bank

Democratic-Republicans believed that the federal government should have less power than state governments. Many Democratic-Republicans were planters and farmers in the South and the West who supported the growth of agriculture. They believed that the U.S. Constitution did not give the United States federal government the right to set up a national bank. When it came to foreign policy, Democratic-Republicans supported France more than they supported Britain.

Aren't the Democratic and Republican parties different?

Yes! The Democratic Party and the Republican Party of today represent different sets of beliefs. And the Democratic-Republican Party of the 18th century was not the same party as either the Democratic Party or the Republican Party of today.

Did the Democratic-Republican Party have any other names?

In Jefferson's day, the party was actually referred to in several different ways. Often, the party's supporters were simply called Republicans. Thomas Jefferson's ideas were so central to the party that party supporters were sometimes even called Jeffersonian Republicans!

Historians, textbooks, and teachers today use any of the three terms —"Republicans," "Democratic-Republicans," or "Jeffersonian Republicans"— to refer to supporters of this party.

This list describes some of the ways the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans tried to get the American public to support their party's position and to oppose the other party. Read the list.

• • • A Democratic-Republican newspaper editor published a poem that described Hamilton, a Federalist, as a "monster" and a "noble goat."

    • A Federalist newspaper editor wrote an article saying that the goal of French political thinking was "the overthrow of whatever good exists."

    • Democratic-Republicans formed clubs that argued that people should have the freedom to speak out against the government.

    • A Federalist politician declared a holiday that had roots in a British tradition.

    • Democratic-Republicans threw parties celebrating the French national holiday.

Toasts in newspapers?

Much like today, people in the 1790s made toasts to celebrate occasions like birthdays or weddings. But political parties at the time also used toasts to support their positions. Toasts were often published in newspapers or on broadsides, which were large, single-sided sheets of newsprint.

Troublesome toasts

Publishing toasts could also stir up trouble! For example, in 1800, the Federalists had published a toast that celebrated the British people. In response, the Democratic-Republicans published a broadside accusing the Federalists of being insolent, or rude and disrespectful, toward the United States, which had fought to win independence from the British.

The Democratic-Republicans responded strongly to the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts. Read the passage adapted from Thomas Jefferson's response to the Alien and Sedition Acts.

If the Alien and Sedition Acts remain law, these are some of the consequences for the country:

The federal government would be able to decide that anything is a crime, and the federal government would be able to decide how that crime should be punished. This would happen even if the Constitution does not give the federal government that right.

A single person, such as the president, would have a great deal of power: he would act as the accuser, the judge, and the jury. This would put enormous power in the hands of a single person.

Representing the Democratic-Republican viewpoint, Thomas Jefferson argued that the Alien and Sedition Acts would give the federal government powers that the Constitution did not allow. Jefferson also argued that the Alien and Sedition Acts would put far too much power in the hands of the president.

Fighting with fire tongs

Different beliefs about the Alien and Sedition Acts led to a violent clash between a Democratic-Republican and a Federalist in Congress.

The two congressmen traded insults and fought on the floor of the House of Representatives with a cane and fire tongs!

This cartoon shows a comical view of the fight.

Elected from prison

Matthew Lyon, the Democratic-Republican congressman who participated in the fight, was also the first person to be put on trial for violating the Alien and Sedition Acts.

Lyon published his own Democratic-Republican newspaper. In it, he criticized President John Adams. Lyon was put in jail for what he wrote, but he ran for Congress from his prison cell—and won!

Lyon is still the only person to have won a seat in Congress from prison.

The election of 1800 convinced Thomas Jefferson that the American system of government was strong enough that parties would not tear it apart. Read the description of the election of 1800.

In the election of 1800, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, the two Democratic-Republican candidates, received the same number of electoral votes. So, the election was a tie between members of the same party!

According to the election rules of the time, the House of Representatives, which was made up mostly of Federalists, had to vote to decide which Democratic-Republican candidate would become president.

The House of Representatives eventually voted for Thomas Jefferson to become president. Power was peacefully passed to Jefferson. This was the first time that a president from one party was replaced by a president from another party.

The 1800 election results were also important because they led Congress to ratify the Twelfth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which required electors to cast separate ballots for president and for vice president.

Jefferson's election showed that even though parties might represent very different ideas about politics, the American political system was strong enough for power to peacefully pass from one party to another.

The political parties that developed in the 1790s represented different beliefs held by the American people. The Federalist Party generally supported a strong federal government and the ideas of Alexander Hamilton. The Democratic-Republican Party generally supported a weaker federal government and the ideas of Thomas Jefferson.

Tensions between the parties grew in the late 1790s, as France came to seem more like an enemy of the United States. One of the other biggest sources of division was the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts. The Democratic-Republicans claimed that these acts were unconstitutional.

Despite the tensions, the election of 1800 resulted in a peaceful transfer of power from one party to another when Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson replaced Federalist John Adams as president.