Politics in America from 1775 to 1800

¶ … Politics in America from 1775 to 1800

American politics began with the Revolutionary war in 1775 in which the colonists opposed British rule. Americans had developed notions of self rule and therefore invasive British policies in 1775 greatly angered the new Americas. They then decided to declare independence from Great Britain and were forced to fight a war to institute what would become American political notions. Noteworthy to American politics was the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 at the Second Continental Congress, which not only declared independence but stated its opposition to the king. Such notions against authoritarianism, monarchy, and aristocracy would come to be staples of American politics.

The next step in American political development was the Articles of Confederation which was a weak confederation without a strong central government. It was signed in 1777 and did have some ideas that would influence the future Constitution of the United States. Political conflicts and economic problems relating to the power of the federal government followed.

In 1787 there was a major event that would have a lasting impact on the political development of the Untied States. The Constitutional Convention, held in Philadelphia, was originally intended to try and fix some of the problems created by the aforementioned Articles of Confederation. However, a new Constitution began to be written that included the notion of a federal government that is more powerful than the states and can tax the states. There was some controversy as to the legislative branch, but ultimately a compromise was reached known as the Great Compromise that resulted in power for both small states and states with large populations. This bicameral legislature with a Senate where each sate has the same number of representatives and the House of Representatives which would have representatives equal to population became an important characteristic in the development of American politics. Furthermore, the Convention decided on an executive and a judicial branch. Religion would have no part of the new government either.

Passing the Constitution, being ratified by the states, became a problem particularly in Virginia and New York. Both large states with a great population, they did not want to lose influence or power to a federal government. In particular, there was great debate in New York as existing political leaders feared a lose of power. The Federalists were those who supported the Constitution and include James Madison and Alexander Hamilton. They were the Federalist Papers that were published in New York and not only helped the Constitution to be ratified, but guided the direction of the new American nation. Those who opposed a strong government were the anti-federalists and they feared America would turn into a corrupt nation like Great Britain.

George Washington, who would be the first President, was a federalist and had great influence and therefore helped the country to go in that direction. A Bill of Rights quelled further fears about the oppression of the federal government. In 1788 the Constitution went into effect. The Federalists were the first government and George Washington went a long way in developing the role of the executive. The Federalist Party was created in the 1790s, but a party supporting state right's was formed known as the Democratic-Republican Party. However, the Federalists would remain in power until Thomas Jefferson would be elected in 1801.