The First American Party System: Events, Issues, and Positions

"The idea of a legitimate opposition—recognized opposition, organized and free enough in its activities to be able to displace an existing government by peaceful means—is an immensely sophisticated idea, and it was not an idea that the Fathers found fully developed and ready to hand when they began their enterprise in republican constitutionalism in 1788."

—Richard Hofstadter in The Idea of a Party System (University of California Press, 1970. p. 8.)

The philosophical differences that arose during the Constitutional Convention and the ratification process that followed laid the foundation for the political divisions that emerged and solidified once the new government was in place. Article VII of the Constitution provided for ratification by the states, stipulating that approval by nine states would be sufficient for adoption. Support for the new government was mixed. Supporters called themselves Federalists and dubbed their opponents Anti-Federalists. These labels referred to groups that formed for the sole purpose of debating the merits of the Constitution, deciding whether it should be adopted, and, if so, determining what conditions should be placed on its acceptance. Though sharply divided on issues relating to the new framework of government, the Federalists and Anti-Federalists did not adopt the organizational elements associated with formal political parties. Furthermore, the divisions that arose during the ratification process were different from the alignments that emerged during Washington’s administration. Madison, for example was closely aligned with Hamilton during the struggle for ratification but led the opposition to Hamilton’s Federalist Party throughout the 1790s. Exactly when philosophical differences coalesced into recognizable political parties is open to debate. According to the Encyclopedia of American History (Morris and Morris, Harper Collins, 1996):

Competent latter-day authorities differ over the approximate date of origin of these parties. Among the dates indicated for their definite emergence are 1787-88 (C.A. Beard), 1791-92 (J.S. Bassett: D. Malone), 1792-1793 (N. Cunningham) and 1798 (O.G.Libby).

Additional information on the positions of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists may be found in the EDSITEment lessons Before and Beyond the Constitution: Chief Executives Compared: The Federalist Papers and The Constitutional Convention: Four Founding Fathers You May Never Have Met.

Jefferson, who resigned as Washington's Secretary of State in 1793, and James Madison, who first began to oppose the policies of Alexander Hamilton while a member of the House of Representatives, soon united, as Jefferson wrote in his will, "in the same principles and pursuits of what [they] deemed for the greatest good of our country" (on the Thomas Jefferson Digital Archive, a link from the EDSITEment-reviewed website The American President). Together, they were central to the creation of the first political party in the United States. In the meantime, those who supported Hamilton began to organize their own party, thus leading to the establishment of a two-party system.

• EDSITEment also offers the following additional complementary lessons or curriculum units:
  • Before and Beyond the Constitution: George Washington: The Precedent President
  • Certain Crimes Against the United States: The Sedition Act
  • Washington and the Whiskey Rebellion
  • What Made George Washington a Good Military Leader?
• Make sure that students understand the distinction between the Republican Party of Jefferson and Madison—subsequently known as the Democratic-Republican Party—and the present-day Republican and Democratic parties, both of which can claim in one way or another to have inherited the mantle of Jeffersonian Democracy, though neither can trace its line directly to the Democratic-Republicans.
• For more background information, consult Thomas Jefferson: The Architect of a Nation and The Hamilton Years: The Formation of the Republican Party on the EDSITEment resource American Studies at the University of Virginia, and Biography: Alexander Hamilton on From Revolution to Reconstruction, a link from American Studies at the University of Virginia.
• Throughout this unit, students will read and analyze a variety of primary documents. The following materials from EDSITEment resources may be useful to teachers seeking expert advice on the use of primary documents:
  • Using Primary Sources on The Library of Congress, a link from American Memory
  • Document Analysis Worksheets on National Archives Educator Resources
  • Making Sense of Evidence on History Matters