Rise of political parties

Federalists during the ratification period had been unified around the Constitution and support for its form of government. Following the acceptance of the Constitution, the initial Federalist movement faded briefly only to be taken up by a second movement centered upon the support for Alexander Hamilton's policies of a strong nationalist government, loose construction of the Constitution, and mercantile economic policies. The support around these policies eventually established the first official political party in the United States as the Federalist Party. The Party reached its political apex with the election of the strongly Federalist President John Adams. However the defeat of Adams in the election of 1800 and the death of Hamilton led to the decline of the Federalist Party from which it did not recover. While there were still Federalists after 1800, the party never again enjoyed the power and influence it had held earlier. One of the Federalists Era's greatest accomplishments was that republican government survived and took root in the United States.

Republicans, or the Democratic-Republican Party, was founded in 1792 by Jefferson and James Madison. The party was created in order to oppose the policies of Hamilton and the Federalist Party. Foreign policy issues were central; the party opposed the Jay Treaty of 1794 with Great Britain (then at war with France) and supported good relations with France before 1801. In great contrast to the Federalists the Republican supported a strict construction interpretation of the Constitution, and denounced many of Hamilton's proposals (especially the national bank) as unconstitutional. The party promoted states' rights and the primacy of the yeoman farmer over bankers, industrialists, merchants, and other monied interests. The party supported states' rights as a measure against the tyrannical nature of a large centralized government that they feared the Federal government could have easily become.It would be Jefferson and the Republican Party that would replace the Federalist Party domination of politics following the election of 1800 which would place Jefferson as the new President and end the Federalist reign as the strongest political party.

The fall of the Federalists

The Alien and Sedition Acts were among the most controversial acts established by the Federalist Party. These acts were four bills passed in 1798 by the Federalist Congress and signed into law by Adams. Defenders claimed the acts were designed to protect against alien citizens and to guard against seditious attacks from weakening the government. Opponents of the acts attacked on the grounds of being both unconstitutional and as way to stifle criticism of the administration. The Democratic-Republicans also asserted that the acts violated the rights of the states to act in accordance with the Tenth Amendment. None of the four acts did anything to promote national unity against the French or any other country and in fact did a great deal to erode away what unity there already was in the country. The acts in general and the popular opposition to them were all bad luck for John Adams. A key factor in the uproar surrounding the Alien and Sedition Acts was that the very concept of seditious libel was flatly incompatible with party politics. The Republicans, it appears had some understanding of this and realized that the ability to pass judgment on officeholders was essential to party survival. The Federalist Party seemed to have no inkling of this and in some sense seem to be lashing out at the concepts of party in general.What was clear was that the Republicans were becoming more focused in their opposition and more popular with the general population.

The years 1798-1800 corroded the prestige and authority of the Federalist Party. At both the national and local level the Federalists faced stiff Republican opposition. By mobilizing common voters, local republican insurgents built the popular constituency that the national leaders attached themselves to. Jefferson defeated Adams for the Presidency and the Republican Party made significant gains at all levels of the government with the election 1800. As the Federalist faded from the national spotlight a new political era would be ushered in with the Jefferson administration. The Federalist Party would continue to exist as a strong party in New England and the Northeast, but without any strong leaders it eventually weakened and faded out within the first decade of the 19th-century