POLITICAL PARTIES

POLITICAL PARTIES

• In George Washington's time, there were no political
• parties to run candidates against him.
• This was because the Framers were afraid of factions.
• They feared one faction would become too powerful and work
• for the benefit of their faction rather than the greater good.

WASHINGTON

• President Washington was greatly opposed to political parties.
• At the time of his election, there was no need for them. One
• reason for this was that the people held a great respect for
• him. As a framer, George viewed parties as factions, which
• would separate the people.

HAMILTON

• Alexander Hamilton was Secretary of Treasury,
• he also advised President George Washington.
• He believed in a strong federal government,
• and a broad meaning to the Constitution.
• He was the founder of the Federalist Party.

JEFFERSON

• Thomas Jefferson was the Secretary of State.
• He also advised president George Washington.
• He believed in small local government, a narrow meaning
• of the Constitution, and very little federal involvement.
• He was the founder of the Rebublican party.

CONSTITUTION

• The two advisors disagreed greatly about the meaning
• of the "Necessary and Proper Clause." Hamilton took the
• word necessary to mean that which is needful or useful to solve a
• problem. He argued that this was the job of the government.
• Jefferson took it to mean "absolutely neccesary."

HAMILTON ECONOMY

• As Secretary of Treasury, he wanted to strenghthen the
• economy by creating a strong currency, manufacturing goods
• on a large scale, and creating a national bank. He felt this was
• necessary to collect taxes and so on. The main problem was that
• people did not trust paper money to hold its value.

OTHER VIEWS

• Thomas Jefferson was opposed to the idea of a national bank.
• He believed this was not necessary. George Wahsington
• listened to both opinions, however, he signed
• A bill from Congress, creating The Bank of the
• United States.

1793

• In 1793, Britain and France went to war. The parties
• took sides in the war. The Federalists wanted to help Britain
• because there was more trade to be had with them. The
• Republicans wanted to side with France, in return of the favor.
• Washington decided to remain neutral in the war.

JOHN JAY

• John Jay was a United States Supreme Court Chief Justice.
• He made a treaty with the British where British troops had
• to leave their forts in the colonies. The British also agreed
• to increase trade with America. This treaty was very unpopular
• because it did not stop British from searching American ships.

1796 ELECTION

• In the 1796 election, John Adams became president with
• Thomas Jefferson as his vice president. The Republicans used
• newspapers and pamphlets to criticize Adams and support
• Republican views.

ALIEN AND SEDITION

• Adams and the Federalists were able to pass two laws
• called the Alien and Sedition Acts. The Alien Act gave the
• president broad powers over aliens entering the country.
• The Sedition Act made it a crime for newspaper editors, writers,
• or speakers to criticize the government.

CONT.

• These acts could not have been passed today,
• because they directly violate our First Amendment
• rights. The Republicans were greatly angered by
• these acts because they silenced them.

1800 ELECTION

• The election of 1800 was the first time candidates were
• backed by parties. Adams was running again, and the
• Rebublicans backed Thomas Jefferson. The parties ran elections
• and in the end, there was a tie between Aaron Burr and Jefferson,
• after thirty-six ballots, Jefferson won.

PARTIES NOW

• The Federalist party diminished over time, because
• it could not compete with the Republicans. The Democratic
• party today claims that its roots lie in the Republican
• party of Thomas Jefferson. The modern Republican
• party comes from the party of Abraham Lincoln.

POLITICAL PARTIES TODAY

• The role of political parties is to bring people with similar
• interests together. Parties can nominate people for
• public office, raise money, and encourage people to
• vote for them. Parties can get many people involved in the
• process of government.

CONTINUED

• Political parties give people a choice of candidates
• and programs. A political party that is not in power
• can debate and criticize a party that is in power.
• Political parties have helped to shape the USA and
• are essential to our electoral system.