Federalist Party

The Federalist Party was founded by Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton in 1791. After he was killed in dual in 1804, the party was left without outstanding leaders.

The Federalist Party was a U.S. political party founded in 1791 by Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. It rallied support for the administrations of George Washington and John Adams, and it promoted various policies designed to strengthen the national government. It was the world's first political party. Notable spokesmen included John Jay and author Noah Webster. Washington was never a member, but he did endorse most of its policies. The Federalists were opposed by the Republicans, a rival party led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. The Federalists elected Adams president in 1796. In 1799, the party was at the peak of its power. It controlled all branches of government, including Congress, the presidency, and the courts. But Adams was defeated by Jefferson in the "Revolution of 1800." With the loss of Adams and Hamilton, who was killed in 1804, the Federalists became an antiquated, backward-looking party that merely went through the motions of contesting elections. Rufus King, nominated in 1816, was the party's last presidential candidate.

History

The name "federalist" is derived from The Federalist Papers, a collection of newspaper columns that supported ratification of U.S. Constitution. The columns were written in 1787 by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. Those who supported ratification were called federalists, while those who opposed it were called "anti-federalists."

The Federalist Party was the first political party in the United States. In 1790, Hamilton proposed a set of reforms designed to put the new federal government on a strong financial basis. The plan divided Congress into factions. Those Congressmen who supported Hamilton's reforms became the Federalist Party. The opposition was led by Madison. Although Madison had been a leading federalist in the fight for ratification, he was not a member of Hamilton's Federalist Party. Conversely, Patrick Henry, the most prominent critic of ratification, did join Hamilton's party. (Both positions reflect Henry's longstanding rivalry with Madison.)

After a period of dominance under presidents Washington and Adams, the Federalists found themselves in opposition and without outstanding leaders. Washington died in 1799, Adams retired in 1801, and Hamilton was killed by Aaron Burr in 1804. The party's base of support was in New England, a region dependent on trade with Britain. Meanwhile, Republican "war hawks" in the West and South saw war with Britain as a way of acquiring agricultural land in Canada and in the West. Federalist fortunes revived briefly during the War of 1812 due to the party's anti-war stand. With the war going poorly, the Federalists sponsored the Hartford Convention in 1814 to propose constitutional amendments. After the Treaty of Ghent and the Battle of New Orleans in 1815, the fear of defeat that inspired the convention was forgotten and involvement opened former participants to the accusation of treason.

With victory in hand, the peace-with-Britain vs westward expansion issue, which had driven partisan rivalry up to this point, disappeared. The difficulties the U.S. encountered early in the war demonstrated that the Federalists had been right about the need for a stronger national government. In 1816, Congress rechartered the Bank of the United States and enacted protective tariffs. The policies of the Federalists turned out to be far more popular than the Federalists ever were themselves. In the spring of 1816, Rufus King, the last Federalist nominee for president, wrote, "I presume that the failure will, as I think it should, discourage the Federalists from maintaining a fruitless struggle." As King predicted, Republican James Monroe won the 1816 election in a landslide, kicking off a non-partisan "era of good feelings." New Hampshire Congressman Daniel Webster, the most promising of the young Federalist leaders at this point, switched parties. In 1820, Monroe was reelected without opposition. Defeat in the Massachusetts governor's race of 1823 ended the party's history. Chief Justice John Marshall was the last Federalist in the federal government, serving until his death in 1835.

Platform

The Federalists advocated a strong national government, capable of holding its own in a world at war. At the state level they promoted strong state governments. Foreign policy was a decisive issue in the 1790s and the Federalists promoted friendship and trade with Britain, especially through the Jay Treaty, which was highly controversial but ratified in 1795. The Jeffersonians admired the French Revolution and feared that close ties with Britain would threaten republicanism and move the new republic back toward monarchy. In terms of economics, federalists subscribed to the Hamiltonian notion that the United States must engage in manufacturing and commerce in order to become a great power.

Federalist presidents

• John Adams (1797-1801)

See also

• Republicans (Jeffersonian)
• Anti-Federalists

Bibliography

• Banner, James M. To the Hartford Convention: The Federalists and the Origins of Party Politics in Massachusetts, 1789–1815 (1970)
• Bassett, John Spencer. The Federalist System, 1789-1801 (1906) 374 pp older scholarly history online edition
• Beeman, Richard R. The Old Dominion and the New Nation, 1788–1801 (1972)
• Broussard, James H. The Southern Federalists: 1800–1816 (1978)
• Buel Jr., Richard. Securing the Revolution: Ideology in American Politics, 1789–1815 (1972)
• Chambers, William Nisbet. Political Parties in a New Nation: The American Experience, 1776-1809 (1963)
• Chambers, William Nisbet, ed. The First Party System: Federalists and Republicans (1972)
• Chernow, Ron. Alexander Hamilton (2004), most recent major biography excerpt and text search
• Cunningham Jr., Noble E., ed. The Making of the American Party System 1789 to 1809 1965. Excerpts from primary sources
• Dunn, Susan. Jefferson's Second Revolution: The Election Crisis of 1800 and the Triumph of Republicanism (2004) excerpt and text search
• Elkins, Stanley, and Eric McKitrick. The Age of Federalism: The Early American Republic, 1788–1800 1993, the most detailed and sophisticated political history of the era. online edition
• Ferling, John. Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, (2004) online edition
• Fischer, David Hackett. The Revolution of American Conservatism: The Federalist Party in the Era of Jeffersonian Democracy 1965
• Formisano, Ronald. The Transformation of Political Culture: Massachusetts Parties, 1790s–1840s (1983)
• Fox, Dixon Ryan. The Decline of Aristocracy in the Politics of New York, 1801–1840 (1919)
• Hildreth, Richard. History of the United States (1851) vol 4 covering 1790s. online edition, by leading conservative historian of 1840s
• Humphrey, Carol Sue The Press of the Young Republic, 1783–1833 1996 online edition
• Knudson, Jerry W. Jefferson And the Press: Crucible of Liberty (2006) how 4 Republican and 4 Federalist papers covered election of 1800; Thomas Paine; Louisiana Purchase; Hamilton-Burr duel; impeachment of Chase; and the embargo excerpt and text search
• Larson, Edward J. A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America's First Presidential Campaign. (2007). 333 pp. on 1800 online review
• McCormick, Richard P. The Second Party System: Party Formation in the Jacksonian Era (1966) details the collapse state by state
• McCullough, David. John Adams (2002), very well written popular biography; Pulitzer Prize; excerpt and text search
• McDonald, Forrest. The Presidency of George Washington (1974), by leading conservative historian
• McDonald, Forrest. Alexander Hamilton: A Biography (1979) online edition biography focused on intellectual history esp on AH's republicanism.
• McDonald, Forrest. "Hamilton, Alexander"; American National Biography Online 2000, 5000 words
• Miller, John C. Alexander Hamilton: Portrait in Paradox (1959), full-length scholarly biography; online edition
• Miller, John C. The Federalist Era: 1789–1801 (1960) political history by leading scholar.
• Mitchell, Broadus. Alexander Hamilton: The National Adventure, 1788–1804 (1962), most detailed scholarly biography
• Morison, Samuel Eliot. The Life and Letters of Harrison Gray Otis, Federalist, 1765-1848 (1913) 378 pages complete text online
• Risjord, Norman, ed. The Early American Party System (1969) excerpts from essays by scholars
• Risjord, Norman. Chesapeake Politics, 1781-1800 (1978), covers Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina in depth; online edition
• Sharp, James Rogers. American Politics in the Early Republic: The New Nation in Crisis, 1993 , detailed political history of 1790s
• Sheehan, Colleen. “Madison v. Hamilton: The Battle Over Republicanism and the Role of Public Opinion” American Political Science Review 2004 98(3): 405-424. abstract
• Smelser, Marshall. The Democratic Republic 1801–1815 1968 general survey
• Tinkcom, Harry M. The Republicans and Federalists in Pennsylvania, 1790–1801 1950 online edition

External links

• A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787-1825