Preview

Why Are Political Parties Formed

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
745 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Why Are Political Parties Formed
Political parties have been a part of the United States governmental structure for a long time. But a question that is always asked is, “since political parties are not mentioned in the Constitution, how and why were they formed?” They are interesting perspectives that are fabricated mainly because of the disputes by Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Their different views on who should govern, the structure of government, economics, and foreign policy caused the whole country to be spilt. To clarify, who should govern someone that knows how to lead, the structure can either be central based or not central based, the economics is the actual state of the U.S. economy, and the foreign policy is the interaction that the U.S. should have …show more content…
These viewpoints were pretty much the opposite of each other and show how this issue helped to form political parties.
In addition to Hamilton and Jefferson disagreeing on who should govern the country, they disputed on the structure of the actual government itself. The structure of the government played a role in the formation of political parties. Hamilton favored a strong central government and thought that the American government should be modeled on the British system. In addition, he wanted to increase the number of federal employees and happened to support a loose interpretation of the Constitution. Lastly, he thought that individual liberties, such as freedom of speech, should sometimes be restricted. Of course Jefferson thought extremely differently about it. He favored a weak central government, but strong state governments. He preferred a more democratic government. He wanted to reduce the number of federal employees and favored a strict interpretation of the Constitution. Also, he believed that laws, rather than being restricted must protect individual liberties. The structure of government was clearly another part as to why political parties were
…show more content…
In addition, he established a national bank, wanted to maintain internal taxes and wanted to use the national debt to establish credit. Both had valid ideas on what to do in terms of economics, but it still left room to form different opinions.
Another issue, in addition to the U.S. economy, was the foreign policy. Jefferson and Hamilton thought of the idea of foreign policy very differently. Hamilton believed in and supported Britain because he liked their central-based government and respected it as well. Jefferson believed that America was obligated to help France because the coming together of political parties was similar to the revolution they both experienced, making him favor France over any other country. Political parties were formed because they couldn’t agree on this dispute. The combination of who should govern, the structure of the government, the economics, and the foreign policy all contribute to the formation of political parties. These topics are so open-ended and open to interpretation that they were bound to be looked at differently by different people. Because not everyone is not going to have the same opinion, different groups will be formed all due to the fact that people cannot agree on just one

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    How did Jefferson’s ideals of government differ from those of Hamilton? Jefferson believed in strong states which would in return better control the government while also benefiting us while Hamilton believed in strong central government where the states would have limited power and the elite would have a say in government while also basing the economy on industry and large national debt.…

    • 323 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    DBQ Essay

    • 304 Words
    • 1 Page

    In conclusion, what led to the rise of political parties in the 1970s was different views and…

    • 304 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Both Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson have different views about the future of America, but they both and intensions to better America by 1794. Hamilton believed in the government getting stronger with the rise of large corporations that can help provided jobs. Jefferson wanted to weaken the central government, and empower the states governments. Which view was more realistic and created a more secure system? With the Hamilton and Jefferson conflict, this helped raise political parties to decide what is good for the United States of America. Each view needed the other to create a government that would be strong enough to protect itself from its people and from external strife.…

    • 665 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The founders hoped to avoid factions in the government which was the equivalent of the political parties which came into being. The founding fathers goal would become unachievable during George Washington’s presidency which would mark the beginning of the two party systems. This system began with Alexander Hamilton, a Federalist, was the Secretary of the Treasury and the antifederalists who became known as the democratic republicans led by Jefferson. Political parties were very important in the evolution of the way the united states governed itself due to the fact that people with shared economic and cultural goals joined together to influence policy decisions in America. These parties were able to back candidates for certain positions. Once…

    • 1316 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Alexander Hamilton was a federalist who believed in a strong central government. Thomas Jefferson was a democratic republican who wanted states to have strong power. Hamilton and Jefferson were competing to get their way. Hamilton point of view was best for America. Hamilton want the best for the country not for himself, he wanted to help bring upon a good strong federal government, and he thought that Jefferson was to dangerous for the country.…

    • 608 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamilton vs Jefferson

    • 528 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Hamilton and Jefferson disagreed on pretty much everything; this was easily portrayed in their movements during the early stages of development in America. They had different political philosophies, views on long-term economic outlooks, interpretations of the Constitution, and mindsets on federal versus state power. These discrepancies, however, would eventually help in creating a more balanced government in America.…

    • 528 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the Revolutionary- Federalist Era, politics, parties, programs, policies, and people made an enormous difference in how the new nation should be structured and run. During this era, two men in particular championed politics and their respective parties. These two men were Alexander Hamilton, a Federalist, and Thomas Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican. Both Hamilton and Jefferson were successful college educated intellectuals and politicians who made significant contributions to the development of the United States policies and programs. However Hamilton, despite never being elected President, had more influence over the development of the United States’ policies and programs during the Revolutionary-Federalist Era. Historically Hamilton and Jefferson are known for agreeing to disagree over just about every policy being discussed during the establishment of government structure, and decorum. And it is Hamilton’s policies on economics, government structure, and constitution interpretation, which took precedent over Jefferson’s.…

    • 875 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamilton understood that a strong central government would be needed to keep the fledgling country alive. In order to keep a strong government that understood the problems at hand, it needed to be run by first class, educated men. Hamilton also makes a good point in saying that, though Jeffersonians thought the rich would corrupt the government in order to profit for themselves, the rich had nothing to gain as they were already at the top of the social ladder. Whiele Hamilton was a realist, Jefferson was a romantic. He lagged…

    • 974 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although Jefferson often showed a strong dislike for the Federalist laws and programs, when he took office he left many of the Federalist programs intact, and except for revoking the excise tax, the Hamiltonian system was mostly left as it was. However, this act of Jefferson’s went against many of the political beliefs held by his party and himself. Jefferson and Hamilton’s philosophies differed greatly in that Jefferson adhered to a weak central government, with most of the power in the hands of the states. He believed that the federal government’s power should be restrained and limited, so that it would not be able to become tyrannical or try and undermine the power of the states and the people.…

    • 937 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    They both tried to make America a better and stronger country starting with the government. In the end, both ideas eventually helped form the government we have today all while uniting the country. Hamilton’s idea of a strong, central government evens out with Jefferson’s beliefs of independent state governments. While we still use both ideas of how the government should be ran, it’s really up to the people to decide which groups’ idea was stronger, better, and more thought out: the Federalist’s or the…

    • 499 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jefferson Vs Hamilton Dbq

    • 664 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Jefferson and Hamilton were both fundamental in the creation of the Constitution and the present government. They both agreed that the government needed some changes, but that is where the similarities ended. Hamilton was the creator of the Federalist Party which represented favor in strong central government, a Federal Bank, and a stable financial system. Jefferson was the creator of the Anti-Federalist Party who did not favor strong central government, and believed in an agrarian economy. Both leaders had influence on the new government and economy of America, but had different view on how it should be run.…

    • 664 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jefferson had a good point showing that the rich and wealthy and wellborn should not rule, and that was a big point of Hamilton’s I did not believe in but, overall Hamilton’s views on who should govern passed Jefferson. For example, Hamilton wanted to raise voting qualifications meaning he didn’t want it to be so easy for anyone to vote, and that is how it should be, not everyone should be able to vote, it should be a privilege, and having anyone be able to vote like Jefferson believed, could hurt the government and who runs…

    • 653 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    "There is nothing I dread so much as a division of the Republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader and converting measures in opposition to each other. This...is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution."1 This view, expressed by John Adams, was not shared by all, namely Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. As the early American government began to form, so did the two major political parties. Alexander Hamilton was the founder of the Federalist Party, while Thomas Jefferson led the Anti-Federalists in response.2 Both men used their prominence in each party to their advantage to influence the public and their disputes created controversy and discordance between the parties and the American people. Hamilton and Jefferson had many disagreements throughout their careers and had radically different opinions on what their new country should be like.…

    • 1602 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    As the Americans sorted through what kind of country they were going to be various opposite sided viewpoints would help shape our nation in how we interpret the constitution, how we vote, and how we dealt with foreign affairs. The federalists and the democratic-republicans became the origin of a two-party political system in the United States. The two parties varied drastically not just in their policies but also in who were being represented in these groups. On the federalist end we have merchants, bankers, the mostly educated classes of people contrastingly on the republican side we have the artisans, the farmers, and mostly ill-educated folk. The two sides disagreed on most matters mainly regarding the interpretation of the constitution,…

    • 452 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Political Parties

    • 517 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Acting as the organized opposition to the party in power- acting as the “watch dog” to the opposite in power…

    • 517 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays