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Similarities between federalism and democracy
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Two popular parties in America during the formation of a new nation debated for decades over different laws, policies and other various government issues. These two parties were know as the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans also known as the Jeffersonian Republicans. Popular names in the Federalist party included John Adams, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay while James Madison and Thomas Jefferson were the most know Democratic-Republicans. Perhaps the largest debate was over the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798. The Sedition and Alien Acts were put in place during the United States's conflicts with France in the late 1700s and John Jay's treaty that was signed with Great Britain. John Adams the president at the time and a majority of the government were Federalists. Most of the debate was over the Alien Act as this acts also changed the year required for citizenship from five years to fourteen years and allowed the government to protect our country from the aliens living in the U.S that posed a threat and were disloyal to the U.S government by speaking against the federalist way. Meanwhile the Sedition Act was aimed at the anti-federalists or democratic republican party speaking out about the government and allowed the government to place people in jail for criticizing the government in newspapers and articles. Although George Washington was not in a political party during his Presidency, he did have a say on immigrants to the U.S. George Washington in a Letter to John Adams said “ There is no need of encouragement ( for immigration ), while the policy or advantage of its taking place in a body may be questioned: for, by so doing, they retain the Language, habits and principles ( good or bad ) which they brin...
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...s. Jefferson also strongly disagreed with the Sedition Act because it infringed two freedoms granted by the Bill of Rights and the first amendment of freedom of speech and press. Jefferson could not protest these acts openly because he could be charged under the Sedition acts of criticism. It is evident that the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans had there debates over the Alien and Sedition Acts which caused uproar. Federalists did not support immigration to the U.S and criticism to the government while the Democratic-Republicans did support immigration and freedom of press and speech. The Alien and Sedition Acts created a rift between the government and the citizens of the United States at the time which was not a good thing at all. The Alien and Sedition Acts will go down in history as a controversial act that created a rift between people in the U.S.
The Jeffersonian-Republicans (also known as the Democratic-Republicans) were opposed to the Federalists from before 1801-1817. Leaders Thomas Jefferson and James Madison created the party in order to oppose the economic and foreign policies of Alexander Hamilton and the Federalist Party. The Democratic-Republicans supported the French, whereas the Federalists supported the British. Each party had its set of views. The Federalists supported a loose interpretation of the Constitution, a strong central government, high tariffs, a navy, military spending, a national debt, and a national bank (all ideas of the Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton). The Democratic-Republicans opposed all of the said ideas and fought for states' rights and the citizens to govern the nation. Originally, each of these parties stuck to their own views and ideas, but eventually would accept eachother's views and use them as their own.
In 1798, the Alien and Sedition Acts were created under President John Adams due to tensions with France. The Sedition Act made it illegal for anyone to publish anything that could defame or speak badly of the United States government. The Alien and Sedition Acts were repealed after President Adams’ presidential term was over. The Espionage and Sedition Acts, created from 1914 through 1921, made it illegal to cause disloyalty in the military forces and also prohibited any opposition to the government and their decisions in war. These acts were declared unconstitutional. Both were repealed after conflicts died down. The U.S. Patriot Act, created to investigate and protect against terrorism, made it legal for the United States’ government to search the records of citizens without their
The Republicans and Federalists views differed drastically, so much so that the president George Washington had accusations of favoring Alexander Hamilton and The Federalists, as his accuser was clearly Thomas Jefferson. In fact, Republicans were the minority among Federalists, however, they were strong-willed in their beliefs. Thomas Jefferson coined life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and that is what he and the Republicans hoped for from the government. In conclusion, Jefferson and The Republicans finally achieved harmony when Jefferson became vice president in 1796, and admirably in 1801 citizens elected Jefferson as president, in which he served until 1809. Jefferson and the Republicans fought long and hard for the government rule to be limited, which in “The Declaration of Independence” Jefferson writes about unalienable rights, although the government was not directly controlling the citizens anymore, they made laws and continue today to make laws that secretly ensure that the citizens are obeying official
The differing opinions on how the government in the post-Revolutionary war period should be run ultimately created the first rise in political parties. The Federalist belief in a government run by wealthy men and opposing Republican support for and agrarian society split the nations people in support of a government most beneficial to them. Differing reactions to the French Revolution showed the distinct difference in Federalist and Republican belief of who the government should be run under. The National Bank and the excise tax on liquor revealed differing views on how strictly the Constitution should be interpreted and the Alien and Sedition Acts reveal an attempt of one party to dissolve another. The contrasting views of Hamilton's Federalism and Jefferson's Republicanism were the ultimate contributors to splitting the nation on views and establishing the first political parties.
...ll was politically motivated became obvious when the House voted to extend the act from its original one year proposed to the expiration of John Adams term, March 3, 1801. The victory of the Republicans, who ran on a platform of anti-sedition, in the election of 1800 showed that Americans were much more interested in personal freedom that what Federalist thought. It is understandable that in time of war some positions need to be taken to assure the countries well being; as seen in later wars when the Japanese were sent to camps in the west coast. But when these acts of concern start to eliminate certain right and freedoms or violate the constitution; they should be abolished. Thankfully, the American people have the Constitution and the Bill Of Rights to bring them back from the edge, and to force those positions in office governing for themselves into accountability.
John Adams was the last Federalist president which led to the next 16 years of Thomas Jefferson as president for two terms and James Madison as president for two terms. Jefferson and Madison were members of the Republican Party, which had principles and philosophies that were very different than the views of the Federalists. Jefferson and Madison each abandoned the Republican philosophies for Federalism. Jefferson and Madison took on Federalist views while being President of the United States. However, Jefferson and Madison each picked somewhere to stand their ground and keep some of their Republican views.
Did Thomas Jefferson make the right deal on purchasing the Louisiana Territory in 1803? I believe Thomas Jefferson made the right choice of accepting the deal Napoleon Bonaparte offered. The Louisiana Purchase was one of the biggest and cheapest land deals in United States history. The Louisiana Purchase involved two countries, the United States and France, and a big bill for the newly formed United States. Thomas Jefferson doing his best to follow the constitution would soon find it difficult to do so. When Spain gave the Louisiana territory back to France, Jefferson was hit with a dilemma. Thomas Jefferson was caught between his ideas and reality, and with the Pinckney Treaty now void, Jefferson had to find a way to get access to the Mississippi
The Federalist and the Anti-federalist argued a lot over what should be ratified or what should be somewhere and what shouldn’t. This caused many arguments between them. It all started because of the Continental Congress trying to create a new government. This didn’t go over well with the states though because of all of the arguments over how it should be structured. So they put forward the idea of the New Jersey and Virginia plan. These Plans did not workout out for both large and small states. But one day a man named Roger Sherman created the Great Compromise which satisfied both small and big states. Another argument between the Northern and Southern states came about when the Three-Fifths compromise started. This Compromise allowed ⅗
In 1798, when Congress passed both the Alien and Sedition Acts, it was very much constitutional. These acts were definitely in the best interest of America. America was a significantly young nation, at the time, and could not afford to create problems caused by foreigners coming to America. They did not have enough national power to sustain order if everyone was attacking the newly created laws, and many of those rebels being citizens from foreign countries, nevertheless.
Through the Alien and Sedition Acts, those in support of a stronger federal government achieved a major victory. The Acts gave new powers which were not dictated in the Constitution to both the executive and legislative branches. The Federalists were able to pass these acts with their logic based upon loose translations of the Constitution, especially the “elastic clause.” In peacetime, these Acts would not have had a chance in being passed, but the undeclared war with France had riled up Congress enough to accept these loose translations.
As the young colonies of America broke away from their mother country and began to grow and develop into an effective democratic nation, many changes occurred. As the democracy began to grow, two main political parties developed, the Jeffersonian Republicans and the Federalists. Each party had different views on how the government should be run. The Jeffersonian Republicans believed in strong state governments, a weak central government, and a strict construction of the Constitution. The Federalists opted for a powerful central government with weaker state governments, and a loose interpretation of the Constitution. Throughout the years, the political parties have grown, developed, and even dispersed into totally new factions. Many of the inconsistencies and changes can be noted throughout the presidencies of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.
The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions were responses to the infamous Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 enacted by President John Adams and the Federalists who subjugated Congress at the time. The Sedition Act criminalized certain forms of speech, including “untrue” criticism of the President and Congress, and provided for fines and prison terms of up to two years. The Alien Act endorsed the deportation, during times of war or the threat of war, of resident aliens who were found by federal courts to be enemies of the United States, whether they had engaged in warfare or
Around the late 1780s, America realized that the government it was using did not work. The States were divided, not together since the Articles of Confederation only loosely bound them together. Each State had different foreign treaties, different laws, even different money. The Constitution was proposed, which would transform the states into a united nation with a single, republican government. Two parties arose who disagreed over whether it should be ratified or not; the federalists and the anti-federalists. The federalists were in favor of unifying the states into one government. The anti-federalists, on the other hand, wanted to fix the Articles of Confederation instead of throwing them out and creating a new government. The two sides had
Like Jefferson and Hamilton, the Federalists and Anti-Federalists obtained very different views regarding the document and the issues within the document. The first political party of the United States were the Federalists led by Alexander Hamilton (“The Great Debate”). The Federalists supported the Constitution and tried to convince the states to ratify the document (“The Great Debate”). The idea of a Bill of Rights and amendments were argued among the Federalists, eventually making the concession to announce the willingness to take up the matters (“The Great Debate”). Without this compromise of the Federalists, the Constitution may never have been ratified by the States (“The Great Debate”). The Anti-Federals obtained the opposite ideas of the Federalists. The Anti-Federalists opposed the Constitution and believed that the new system threatened liberties, and failed to protect individual rights (“The Great Debate”). This group was not exactly a united group, but they decided to be involved within many elements (“The Great Debate”). These elements include separate factions in which one faction opposed the Constitution because they thought a stronger government threaten the sovereignty of the states (“The Great Debate”). Another faction argued that a new, centralized government would contain all of the characteristics of Great Britain that the country had
In today's day in age, the Democratic and Republican parties seem to be completely diverse. These two parties have completely opposing views on topics ranging from social issues, health care, tax policy, labor and free trade, foreign policy, crime and capital punishment, energy and environmental issues, and even education. Once upon a time however, these two groups were not as polarized as they have become. Both were once a single party known as the Democratic-Republican Party, formed by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in 1791. This sole party favored the idea of a decentralized, democratic government. They despised the idea of the U.S government becoming anything similar to England's monarchy system at the time. They also supported states’ rights as well as the literal and strict interpretation of the U.S Constitution. The group's purpose was to stand against the Federalists who were