Political Parties In The 1790s

In the 1790s, soon after the ratification of the Constitution, political parties were nonexistent in the USA because President Washington feared they would drive the country apart. However, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, with their rivalling mental models, could not help but spark the division of the United States into the Democratic-Republican and Federalist parties. These parties, the Democratic-Republican wanting a small, local government system and the Federalist wanting a strong, powerful government system, turned citizens against one another and eventually led to the inimical Democratic and Republican parties of today. Hence, the formation of the original political parties in the United States is very significant. Political

Parties formed as a result of disputes on how to interpret the Constitution, the size and power of the national government, and whether or not to have a national bank.

Firstly, as the two men had conflicting core values, Hamilton’s and Jefferson’s disagreements on the interpretation of the Constitution was a factor in the formation of political parties. The Constitution being a very general document, it can either be construed to mean that the rights mentioned in it are the only rights to be held by the government, or that any right not prohibited is given to the government. Jefferson supported a strict construction of the Constitution, and Hamilton supported a loose construction. For instance, Congressman John Allen expressed his beliefs about the Sedition Act by writing in a letter, “The freedom of the press and opinions was never understood to give the right of publishing falsehoods and slanders, nor of exciting sedition, insurrection, and slaughter.” (Doc 6) John Allen held Federalist mental models, encouraging a loose construction of the Constitution. Federalists supported the Sedition Act, which outlawed anti-government writing in the press, because it was a way to silence their many Republican critics who were immigrating to the USA from places similar to Europe, where they did not like the over-controlling governments. Before the political sects were formally put into place, Alexander Hamilton chiefly believed in this soon-to-be basis of the Federalist Party. Consequently, Hamilton’s strong beliefs on the portrayal of the Constitution assisted in the formation of political parties because he was determined to stick to his interpretation and would not endorse a government system that opposed it. With his high position in the government, intelligence, and power, Hamilton was inevitably able to let his ideas be known and even start something of a movement for them. This would morph over time into the political parties from the 1790s to today. As with the Federalist Party, a view on the interpretation of the Constitution also helped form the Democratic- Republican Party. In an essay titled, “An Essay on the Liberty of the Press,” George Hay opined, “The freedom of the press... means the total exemption of the press from any kind of legislative control and consequently the Sedition Bill... is an abridgement [reduction] of its liberty, and expressly forbidden by the constitution.” (Doc 7) George Hay was giving assistance to the Democratic-Republican party in his prose. He stood by strictly following what was written in the Constitution, rather than liberally interpreting it. Thomas Jefferson was the person who made known this idea before the country’s divide into multiple political parties. Going against Hamilton’s views on the Constitution with these beliefs as openly as he did, Jefferson raised supporters as well as adversaries. This was the mode in which the country started to divide into groups of different political principles. As both powerful men would not succumb to one another’s reasoning, the formation of political parties was ineluctable with their clashing notions on the manner of interpretation of the Constitution.

Moreover, since each was determined to have his own way, Hamilton and Jefferson also helped in the creation of America’s political parties by having conflicting opinions on the magnitude of the national government. Jefferson was able to raise many supporters for his fancy of a small national government, while Hamilton gathered supporters for the opposite cause. In a letter written by Thomas Jefferson, his feelings were made known when he declared, “Hamilton was not only a monarchist, but [in support] of a monarchy [based on] corruption.” (Doc 1) Alexander Hamilton desired a strong national government that would largely control the economy, put most necessary laws into place, and make national decisions. Hence, Jefferson made this remark because England, a monarchy, had a strong national government at the time. The English government had major control over almost all aspects of the country and was excessively corrupt. This compared to Hamilton’s desire. Hamilton would persevere with this want, and soon aid in the formation of a political party partially based on it. Additionally, Jefferson had his own aim for a national government, wanting it to be similar to that of some countries, and very different from others. In 1792, Hamilton wrote to a friend of Jefferson and his supporters, “They have a womanish attachment to France, and a womanish resentment against Great Britain.” (Doc 2) Jefferson yearned for people and state lawmakers to control most governmental matters rather than Congress, contradictory to the monarchy in Great Britain. The farmers and artisans were on Jefferson’s side, so he wanted to give them a say in the government, because they otherwise would not be involved in the it at all. Jefferson supported France because he wanted the US to have a government setup proportional to that of France. With help from all his supporters, Jefferson was just a step away from being able to formalize his perspective through a political party. Accompanying these facts, tensions arose between the Jefferson and Hamilton, and did not vanish after political parties were formed. When he was Vice President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to John Wise expressing, “Two political Sects [parties] have arisen within the United States, the one... called Federalists, sometimes Aristocrats or monocrats & sometimes Tories... the [other] are... republicans, whigs...” (Doc 5) Jefferson wrote of Hamilton and his party as somewhat of a group of traitors, using the derogatory term “Torie,” and accusing them of being “Aristocrats” and “monocrats,” words which were contradictory to the structures of the US government.These insults justified the fact that the country was soon to be split into factions, since everyday people could not stand one another because of their different political views. Because the Constitution allowed people, such as Jefferson and Hamilton, the right to petition for their aspirations on the size and power of the national government, the country would soon be divided into political parties.

Finally, because it made up a large portion of their ongoing argument, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton would not have established the United States’ political parties if not for their differences on whether or not to have a national bank.

Going hand in hand with his detestation of large, extremely controlling national governments, Jefferson was intent on having no national bank present in the US, but Hamilton was certain the country would benefit from one. For example, in a personal letter written by Alexander Hamilton, he wrote, “Mr. Madison, co-operating with Mr. Jefferson, is at the head of a faction, decidedly hostile to me, and my administration; and actuated by views... subversive of the principals of good government, and dangerous to the Union... Mr. Jefferson... [displays] his dislike of... funding [the] debt.” (Doc 2) Hamilton implied that by not advocating a national bank, Jefferson did not want to help the country pay off its debt. Jefferson, however, was dead set against having a national bank because he wanted the common people, such as the farmers, to have maximum influence on the government. This way, a strong central government could not have supreme political, economic, and social power, all of which together would open the doors for future corruption, even if the government was set up in the manner directed in the Constitution. Jefferson defended this judgement to the extent that he formed a political party so it could develop into a well-supported suggestion. Thus, the perspective on national banks could more efficiently progress into the point where it impacted the whole country and prevented the formation of a national bank. Equally, the excise tax proposed by Alexander Hamilton and carried out by Congress, factored in on Hamilton and Jefferson’s feud on having a national bank. In a letter written by Thomas Jefferson, he manifested his reaction to the excise tax by commenting, “The excise tax is an infernal one... [the public’s]

detestation of the excise tax is universal, and had now associated to it a detestation of the government...” (Doc 3) Jefferson, who took into account his supporters, farmers and artisans, was very unwelcome to the excise tax. The tax on whiskey had a negative effect on farmers and artisans because they could not afford to pay so much and lose business. The act displayed tyranny and poor representation in the national government. On the other hand, Hamilton’s proposal was found to be quite agreeable by his supporters - wealthy northern businesspeople. These people felt the country would benefit from a national bank given control over the economy, and were not affected in the slightest by the whiskey tax and whiskey rebellion. The two men with their separate outlooks on the American government turned their unbearable quarrels into a national matter by dividing the country into parties of people with different political views. Subsequently, the national economy being a prime matter at the time and two powerful, influential people competing through their views for the government, political parties would eventually be formed.

Because of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton’s inability to comply with one another, the factors responsible for the establishment of political parties in the United States were strifes on the interpretation of the Constitution, the largeness of the national government, and the presence of a national bank. Jefferson and Hamilton were bound to provide the stimulus for the nation’s first political parties after continually lambasting each other’s suggestions. Each had the dominion vital to do so, and did not waste it, as political parties have stood the test of time due to their founders. Today in the US, political parties play an enormous part in government and society. They serve as a foundation for the many diverse opinions on social, financial, and political matters omnipresent in the country. The legacy left behind by Hamilton and Jefferson has and will endure through the high points and low points through time in the United States.