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The role of federalism
Democratic republicans vs federalists
The role of federalism
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Federalist and democratic republicans are not the same. They are 2 very different things. For example federalist are Rule by the wealthy class. Another idea or fact that defines and federalist is a Strong federal government, an Emphasis on manufacturing, and etc. Some important stuff from a federalist are a National bank. Now the other part of this is the democratic-republicans. They are something else they have a French alliance, a state bank, and also a Strict interpretation of the Constitution. And finally the most important thing that they had Rule by the people, and Strong state governments, and also Emphasis on agriculture. Also that they had a national free trade.
There are many differences between the Democratic-Republic party and the Federalist Party. Especially in the last decade of the 18th century which is late 1700’s, early 1800’s. They have different views on foreign relations and their beliefs on the war between France and Britain, their Federal government and vision for America. Their leaders are completely different people.
Though many things have changed, there are still many similarities between the first and second political party systems. The Democratic Party and the Democratic-Republican Party have a major similarity when it comes to economics. The Democratic Party did not support the American System because it called for a new national bank, uniform currency, and a protective tariff. The American System is the perfect example of the government influencing the economy, and the Democratic Party did not believe in this government intervention because they believed that it gave the wealthy even more privilege. Similarly, the Democratic-Republican Party did not want a government that influenced the economy. They wanted a government that was weaker and that would take a more hands off approach with regards to
The Federalists and Anti-federalists shared the common beliefs of John Locke’s Enlightenment ideals such as all men were born equal (even though most of these men owned slaves), but their opinions about the role of government were different. Both parties had their own visions of how a new government would function and how the Constitution would support the government being proposed. Many argued that the Articles of Confederation had created a very weak government with very limited power. Specifically, the amount of power or the absence of power of a central government was the main disagreement between the Federalists and Anti-federalists. As a result, the Federalists and Anti-federalists argued about the ratification of a new constitution, which would give the central government more power.
The creation of political parties originally caused some conflict. Many people thought that they were evil. As time went on, the people warmed up to the idea, and characterizations of the Republican and Federalist parties began. The Republicans, led by Thomas Jefferson, strictly interpreted the Constitution, but eventually, they loosened their views on the interpretation of the Constitution. On the other hand, Federalists held views on a loose interpretation of the Constitution, until they realized that a more strict interpretation could be a good thing.
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.
Before 1801, the Jeffersonian Republicans were usually strict constructionists of the constitution. However during the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison they had to adopt some Federalist ideas. In many instances, the two parties completely interchanged their views on the construction of the constitution. During that period of time it was difficult to characterize anyone as a member of either the Federalist or Republican party based on how they interpreted the constitution.
The first two parties were created in the later 1700’s, and these parties were made for two different purposes. The Federalist & Democratic-Republicans had some similar and opposing aspects, but mostly opposing.
Since the Dawn of time, man was had many beliefs from the belief of gods or a god, democracy and communism. In the beginning days of our nation (United States of America) the bill of rights was being created due to American Revolution and the weakness of the articles of the confederation. The articles of confederation were the constitution at the time for the United States of America before and after the American Revolution, which we fought against the tyranny of the British government. The American government at the time realized the Articles of Confederation was weak and need to be changed. This resulted in the bill rights being drafted and added into the US Constitution. But before the bill rights
The Republican Party attracted more of the common people while the Federalist Party drew support from the aristocracy. Although neither side was willing to admit to it, these institutions were known as the "first party system." Both parties stance on who should have more power in the government contributed to the largely divers views of the common man and the wealthy man.
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.
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.
The political views of the federalist and the republicans towards the government of the United States of America were different. The republicans stressed equality of rights among citizens allowing people to govern themselves. The federalists believed in a stronger government one in which was sovereign and had superior power over the local governments.
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
By 1817 the great American experiment was in full swing. America was developing into an effective democratic nation. However as the democracy continued to grow, two opposing political parties developed, the Jeffersonian Republicans and the Federalists. The Jeffersonian Republicans believed in strong state governments, a weak central government, and a strict interpretation of the Constitution. The Federalists saw it differently. They opted for a powerful central government with weaker state governments, and a loose interpretation of the Constitution. The seemingly solid divide between Federalist and Republican would begin to blur during the presidencies of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. For, neither Republican president was able lead the nation with purely republican ideals.
Throughout the period dating from 1801 to 1817, the United States government was primarily controlled by the Jeffersonian Republican party, whereas the Federalist Party began to slowly fade away from public view. The Jeffersonian Republican party, led by Thomas Jefferson, professed to favor a weak central government through the support of more states' rights, "...that the states are independent... to...themselves...and united as to everything respecting foreign nations." (Document A). The Federalists of the United States were known as the loose constructionists, where if there is something which the constitution does not state, then it should be allowed to be done. The Jeffersonian Republicans were known as strict constructionists for their views towards the constitution that if there is anything that is not in the constitution, then it cannot be done. The Jeffersonian Republican party centered many of their political moves on the basis of creating a strong agricultural society with a weakly centralized government where each of the states have more rights to govern themselves, where the Federalist party believed more strongly on industrializing the nation and creating a strong central government. Even though strict constructionism was the idea behind the Jeffersonian Republican party, both Thomas Jefferson and James Madison both have evidence against them which can prove that they were not strict constructionists. This is based on different political moves made by these two presidents which are more towards the Federalist side of things opposed to their own Republican and strict constructionist ideas.