The Early Republic and the First Party System (1791–1824)
The Early Republic and the First Party System (1791–1824)
The framers distrusted political parties, yet parties appeared almost immediately, born of a fundamental argument about how the new nation should develop. The young republic navigated financial crises, foreign wars, and a doubling of its territory, all while inventing the practice of self-government. This chapter follows the first party system and the challenges of the early republic.
4.1Hamilton, Jefferson, and the first partiesAlmost as soon as Washington's government began, his cabinet split. Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton envisioned a commercial…4.2Washington's precedentsAs the first president, George Washington knew his every act set a precedent. He established the cabinet, kept the nation neutral in the…4.3The Adams years and a peaceful transferJohn Adams, a Federalist, won the presidency in 1796. His term was dominated by conflict with France and by bitter partisanship at home. In…4.4Jefferson in powerOnce in office, Jefferson governed more pragmatically than his rhetoric suggested. He cut taxes and shrank the government, yet in 1803 he…4.5The judiciary asserts itselfThe Constitution created a Supreme Court but left its power vague. Under Chief Justice John Marshall, appointed by Adams in 1801, the Court…4.6The War of 1812 and the end of the first party systemFrustrated by British interference and encouraged by "War Hawks" hungry for expansion, Madison led the nation into the War of 1812. The war…4.7Meanwhile, elsewhere (1791–1824)These decades were dominated by the French Revolution and Napoleon, whose wars engulfed Europe until his final defeat at Waterloo (1815)…