Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Political views of federalists
The significance of federalism
The significance of federalism
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Political views of federalists
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. The republicans view almost always proved to be a disaster but the republicans believed that if a republican government could succeed anywhere, it would be within the virtuous communities of the United States of America. The republicans felt that replacing a monarchy government with a republican government would give the people many more rights and freedoms. Many people thought that it required too much public integrity for the people to govern themselves and live independently. It would require the people to obey laws and maintain order with the absence of monarchy forces. The federalists view saw the republicans view as a weakness. They insisted on a stronger common government. The federalists had an understanding that there could only be one sovereign in a political system, one final authority that everyone must obey and no one can appeal. They thought this was the only effective way in creating an effective central government. The independent states seemed to think it was clear that each one of them were independently sovereign, although based on history only small countries were suitable for the republican government. With history proving the republicans wrong for trying to create a republican government in the states the federalists were slowly trying to create a stronger central government. There first step was making the sovereign states agree to the Articles of Confederation which established a close alliance of independent states. The federalist central government was referred to as a “confederacy”.
·Despite the Federalists’ effort to associate themselves with the Constitution they actually favored a “consolidated” (Centralized) national government instead of a truly federal system with substantial powers left to the states
On September 28, 1787 Confederation Congress sent out the draft of the Constitution. This was the first time in history for the people to debate, discuss, and decide with a vote for how they wanted to be governed. There were two groups that debated the thought of the Constitution. They were called Federalists and anti-Federalists.
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.
Eric Foner claims the definition of Federalism refers to the relationship between the national government and the states. Unlike the Constitution, the Articles of Confederation came with many weaknesses. Some provided by our powerpoint include that the Federal government had no power to make the states obey the Articles and laws that were passed by the legislature. The states also had the power to tax, and the opportunity to print their own money. Our powerpoint focuses on the $10 million Congress owed to other countries, as well as the $40 million it owed to the American veterans. The Constitution differed. Foner states that not only did the Constitution enhance national authority, but it also permitted Congress to levy taxes, conduct commerce, confirm war, deal with the foreign nations and Indians, and rent and help the “general welfare”. According to the powerpoint, Federalists focused on the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.
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.
From 1787-1790 the development of the American Constitution was a battle between two opposing political philosophies. America’s best political minds gathered in Philadelphia and other cities in the Northeast in order to find common ground in a governmental structure. The Federalists and the Anti-Federalists had both some political thoughts that agreed as well as some political thoughts that disagreed. However, both parties would compromise and ultimately come together.
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
Republicanism brought change to America, but called into question was the way this change was brought to America. James Madison through the Virginia Plan proposed a republic nation. The formation of the Republican opposition in the 1790’s continued the legacy of the American Revolution. Even though a republican government meant everyone in America would be under the same government it took away the “individual” freedom they fought for in the revolution but this government is representative of the people. Madison had a vision of an “extended republic” that would include everyone, however he would need a lot of support in order to get this republic. “Over the course of 1790’s, Jefferson and Madison would help turn their objections to Hamilton's
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.
As the country grows and matures into a great nation, people realize that change is inevitable and sometimes even needed. Within the time period of 1802 to 1817, many Jeffersonian Republicans realized that their ideals and principles weren’t always best for the nation. That is why they adopted some of the ideals of the old Federalist Party. Also, during this time, the Federalists died out. As realized after the Hartford Convention, the nation did not need nor want the Federalists anymore if the Democratic Republicans could get the job done. Although people changed a great deal during this time, it seemed to be beneficial to the nation. If people had not grown and never continued to learn and aspire to what is needed, then we may have never gotten to this great nation that the United States of America is today.
The standard Democratic-Republican had many beliefs in which followed the Constitution whole heartily. Jefferson writes, "The true theory of our Constitution is surely the wisest and best that the states are independent as to everything within themselves, and united as to everything respecting foreign affairs"(Doc A). This belief that anything not mentioned within the Constitution was reserved for the states was represented the Democratic-Republican ideals a good deal. Thus, as in the Kentucky resolutions, both concluded that the federal government had exceeded its constitutional powers and that the states should not accept the Alien and Sedition Acts. Also, the Republicans strived for democracy; a weak central government; a rigid economy; the reduction of federalist office holders; state banks; relative freedom of the press and speech; concentration of agriculture in the South; minimal navy for coastal defense, which was achieved by Jefferson; and were primarily pro-French. These ideals were addressed during the Jefferson and Madison presidencies. However, in times of great crisis, the two presidents seemed to abandon their Democratic-Republican beliefs and lean towards a strong central government.
Today the United States government is ruled by two parties, the Democrats and the Republicans. Stereotypically, Democrats are often seen as more liberal and Republicans seen as more conservative. Our government as always been controlled by two parties, but the parties have changed numerous times. In the age of our founding fathers, the dominant political parties were the Federalists, founded in 1789 by Alexander Hamilton, and the Democratic-Republicans--also known as the Republicans or the Jeffersonian Republicans--, founded in 1791 by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. (http://www.fjc.gov/, The Sedition Act Trials — Historical Background and Documents ) The beliefs held by the Republicans--in comparison to the Federlists-- had more liberal views. From the viewpoint of a nineteenth century American citizen, I would be a Republican.
The party dominated Congress and most state governments outside of New England. Upon taking office Jefferson set out to reduce the national debt. Jefferson was unhappy with the national debt that he felt was a legacy of Federalists like Hamilton and decided to shift from those policies. Hamilton believed that if the government borrowed from the rich citizens, those citizens would have conferred interest in the country’s growth. Jefferson as a non- federalist believed that Hamilton’s national bank was unconstitutional and decided to abandon that policy, trim the federalist budget, and cut taxes. Jefferson as a Democratic-Republican did not like or trust the government due to its limit on the freedom of the individuals, but he acknowledged the necessity. Jefferson believed in a democracy where the people and the states have most of the power.
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
In contrast, the Federalists viewed both levels of government to be responsible directly to the people, as creators of both their state and national governments. Moreover, Federalists believed that a large “extended republic” was the prescription necessary to save the republican experiment that had been fought for during the American Revolution and nearly lost during the critical period of the 1780s under the Articles of Confederation.