Political Parties Essay

Submitted By tpetty12
Words: 442
Pages: 2

Political Parties didn’t always exist in America. George Washington warned to stay away from forming political parties in his farewell address. He believed that these parties would distract councils and weaken the public administration (Doc 4). Despite these warnings, Political parties still emerged in the 1790’s due to many different views on political aspects. One party that emerged was the Federalists. The Federalists were led by Alexander Hamilton. Thomas Jefferson, leader of the other political party called the Anti-Federalists, stated that Hamilton was supportive of a monarchy based on corruption (Doc 1). Federalists admired British Aristocracy and wanted to return to that lifestyle. The Federalists were also supportive of the Sedition Act of 1798 which made it a federal crime to conspire against the government or say or print anything against the government. They believed that this act was good because it prevented the publication of slander and false statements about the government (Doc 6). The Anti-Federalists were greatly opposed to this act because this went against the constitution and the first amendment of freedom of speech and press. These differences in views led to the creation of the Federalist Party. The other party that emerged was the Anti-Federalists led by Thomas Jefferson. The Anti-Federalists favored France over Great Britain in relation to foreign affairs. This was opposed to the Federalists who favored Great Britain. Alexander Hamilton found Jefferson and his party to be hostile to the government because he thought Jefferson would ruin the principals of good government and would be dangerous to America (Doc 2). Jefferson was also opposed to Hamilton’s excise tax. He believed that this taxation was detrimental to the government because