Republicans and Federalists in early American politics

Republicans and Federalists: Differences

The Federalists believed that American foreign policy should favor British interests, while the Republicans (Democratic-Republicans) wanted to strengthen ties with the French (Democratic-Republican party, n.d.).

On economic matters, the Republicans believed in protecting the interests of the working classes -- merchants, farmers, and laborers. They believed that an agrarian economy would best serve these citizens. They saw the establishment of a national bank of the United States (which Hamilton strongly favored) as a means of usurping power that belonged to individual states, and they believed that it would be tied too closely to the rich (Democratic-Republican party, n.d.).

The Federalists saw industry and manufacturing as the best means of domestic growth and economic self-sufficiency. They favored the existence of protective tariffs on both as a means of protecting domestic production and as a source of revenue (Democratic-Republican party, n.d.).

The Hamiltonians, or Federalists, stressed the need to create a national economy to preserve the independence of the United States. The Jeffersonians, or Republicans, preferred to keep government small, local, and responsive (the new republic: the United States..., 2005).

The Federalists believed in a strong judiciary, while the Republicans preferred a strong legislature and weak courts. The Republicans desired elimination of the national debt, while the Federalists favored a permanent national debt financed by the wealthy.

It would be much easier to list what the parties had in common -- almost nothing.

Vision of Thomas Jefferson

Jefferson's vision was clear and specific. It was expansive, ambitious and carefully organized. It was a vision for the future of the American continent. Long before he became president, Jefferson dreamed of a republic that spread liberty and representative government from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. (Corps of discovery: President Jefferson's vision, 2003) as one of the leading scientific thinkers of his day, he was curious about the terrain, plant and animal life, and Indian tribes of the vast, unknown lands west of the Mississippi River.

In a letter to the mayor of Washington ten days before his own death, Jefferson continued to espouse his vision of the Declaration of Independence and the American nation as signals of the blessings of self-government to an ever evolving world (Thomas Jefferson, 2007).

Vision of Alexander Hamilton

Hamilton had a vision, and it was straightforward. He wanted to make the United States an economic power-house. Hamilton understood the economic strength translates into military power, national security, and international influence. To that end, he set himself upon the task of rebuilding America's economy after the Revolutionary War and reestablishing America's international credit. (Alexander Hamilton's Anglo-American vision, 2008)

Lewis Lehrman of the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History writes:

"No one who has read carefully into the history of state and congressional legislative irresponsibility, and studied the catastrophic inflation of the era of the Articles of Confederation, can fail to be astonished by the economic prosperity set off by the Hamiltonian economic plan of the new republic" (Alexander Hamilton's..., 2008).

Why Did the Federalists Die Out?

The Hartford Convention of 1814, unjustly accused of secessionist and treasonous intentions, was a setback from which the Federalist party never recovered. The Hartford Convention was a gathering of Federalist Party delegates from five New England states that met in Hartford, Connecticut, between December 15, 1814, and January 5, 1815. Its members convened to discuss their long-held grievances against the policies of the successive Democratic-

Republican administrations of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

After that, the party never regained a national following. Its beliefs and actions during the War of 1812 helped seal its fate. By 1828 the Federalists became the first American political party to die out because it could not adjust to an increasingly democratic national spirit, especially in the nation's towns and cities. And among most Americans, mainly farmers suspicious of government, its policies of strong federal involvement in the economy kept it un-popular. Inconsistency in its stance toward military action (first undertaking a naval war with France, then treating for peace with that same nation, then actively opposing war with Britain) made the Federalist Party's true intentions suspect and laid it open to charges that it had no polices of its own and was not willing to defend the country's interests (Federalist party, n.d.).

The Role of the War of 1812 and for Madison's Presidency