First Party System

E65630

The First Party System was the initial era of organized political parties in the United States, marked by competition between the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.


Statements (48)
Predicate Object
instanceOf historical era
political party system
alsoKnownAs First American Party System
characterizedBy development of party newspapers
elite-led party organizations
emergence of national political parties
limited mass participation in politics
country United States
declineCause Era of Good Feelings
collapse of the Federalist Party
dominantIdeologyDemocraticRepublicans agrarianism
states’ rights
strict construction of the Constitution
dominantIdeologyFederalists loose construction of the Constitution
pro-commerce and manufacturing
strong national government
emergedFrom conflicts over Alexander Hamilton’s financial program
debates over the ratification of the U.S. Constitution
endTime 1820s
followedBy Second Party System
geographicBaseDemocraticRepublicans Southern states
Western frontier regions
geographicBaseFederalists New England
commercial urban centers
influenced development of American two-party system
patterns of partisan journalism in the United States
keyFigureDemocraticRepublicans James Madison
Thomas Jefferson
keyFigureFederalists Alexander Hamilton
John Adams
mainOpposingParties Democratic-Republican Party
Federalist Party
majorIssue federal assumption of state debts
foreign policy toward Britain and France
national bank
tariff policy
partOf political history of the United States
peakPeriod 1796–1815
precededBy pre-party politics in the United States
relatedEvent Alien and Sedition Acts
Election of 1800
Jay Treaty
Ratification of the United States Constitution
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
War of 1812
Whiskey Rebellion
XYZ Affair
startTime 1790s

Referenced by (5)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
First Party System ("First American Party System")
alsoKnownAs
Era of Good Feelings
follows
Early Republic of the United States
hasPart
Presidency of James Madison
historicalEra
Presidency of John Adams ("Federalists vs Democratic-Republicans")
ideologicalConflict

Please wait…