Political Parties in American History

The battle over the ratification of the Constitution gave rise to two factions, Federalists and Anti-federalists. Federalists, including Madison, Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, and John Adams, supported the new Constitution, and generally wanted to create a stronger form of government. Anti-federalists distrusted the new Constitution, fearing that it would create an overly powerful government. After the Constitution was ratified, many Americans expected these two factions to dissolve. Instead, they endured and became the new nation's first political parties, the Federalists and the Republicans (sometimes called Democratic-Republicans). These parties fought one another throughout the early history of the new nation. In his famous Farewell Address, President George Washington urged Americans to reject the partisanship that had infected the nation's politics, and to work for the common good of the entire nation. Washington was especially afraid that regional parties would result in a split between the North and South, or the East and West.