The First Party System

1. The First Party System Partisanship: acting in the interests of a political party rather than in the interests of all the country: Political differences grew between 1789 and 1800 as leaders disagreed over the fundamental constitutional questions of who should be in charge and what kind of country the U.S. should be. Two parties emerged. Federalists (led by Hamilton) believed in a loose interpretation of the Constitution, wanted a strong central government, and an alliance with Britain; the Democratic-Republicans (a.k.a. Jeffersonian Republicans) believed in a strict interpretation of the Constitution called for governmental authority to remain mostly in the states and wanted France. George Washington included both views in his cabinet, with Jefferson (Secretary of State) and Hamilton (Secretary of the Treasury).

2. “Venerate the Plow”: Jefferson’s agrarian view of the American economy pictured a nation of yeomen--self-reliant farmers, owning their land and tied to it by what they produced on it not by debt they owed a landlord. Even in bad times, a farmer could grow his own food. Factory workers relied on a wage and did not control their production. If workers lost their jobs, then they would be a drain on society. Let virtuous farmers have America, he declared. “Let our workshops remain in Europe.”

3. Hamilton’s Report on Manufactures: Hamilton had a complex and dynamic vision for the economy. He called on government to spur investment in industries to create a diversified economy of farming, manufacturing, and commerce. He wanted government to give U.S. companies a competitive advantage by imposing a high protective tariff on goods that could be produced in the U.S. The tariff would create winners and losers, however. It hurt consumers by raising prices and it hurt exporters because foreign countries could retaliate with high tariffs of their own, making American farm products less competitive and less attractive.

4. Hamilton's Economic Plan: Faced with substantial debts, such as those incurred during the Revolutionary War, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton developed a multi-part plan to establish a viable and expanding American economy • Hamilton insisted that the war bonds be paid off in full. This would ensure the credit of the national government and enable the U.S. to borrow money in the future. • Hamilton required the federal government to assume state debts. This would strengthen the national government by making creditors dependent on the nation's success if they wanted to be repaid. It would also create a more unified nation. • To pay off the debts, Hamilton called for excise taxes--taxes on specific commodities, such as whiskey. • He called for a national bank. The Bank of the U.S. (BUS) would be a depository for federal revenues and would help to control currency and national credit.

5. The Bank Compromise: With Madison, a protégé of Jefferson, in control of Congress, Hamilton's plan stood no chance of becoming law. Distraught, Hamilton visited Jefferson’s home and the two (plus Madison) worked out a deal. Jefferson backed away from his strict interpretation of the Constitution and compromised what was thought to be his most basic political belief (that power should be in the states). In return for agreeing to debt assumption and a twenty year charter of the BUS, Jefferson got the capital moved to the South. The precise location was selected by George Washington. A few miles from his home at Mount Vernon on a swampy piece of land referred to as “Foggy Bottom,” the nation established the District of Columbia and built the city of Washington.

6. Alien and Sedition Acts: In the face of criticism over John Adams’ policy with France, Federalists enacted four laws restricting political activities of Republicans. The Alien Acts limited political activity of foreigners who tended to support Republicans; the Sedition Acts limited rights of citizens to criticize government, making it illegal to publish or publicly say anything of “a false, scandalous and malicious” nature about the government or any government official. Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions: Jeffersonian Republican response to Alien and Sedition Acts, written by James Madison at the behest of Thomas Jefferson. They argued for nullification, saying a state could make null and void federal laws it believed to be unconstitutional. Nullification renewed the debate over federalism.

7. The “Revolution of 1800” A turning point in American political history. The election of 1800 pitted Federalist John Adams against Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson. Adams lost. Adams did not go to Jefferson's inauguration, but the peaceful transition of government from one party to its opponent was remarkable for the time. In the election, a problem arose in the Electoral College. It was a tie. Jefferson received the same number of votes as his running-mate Aaron Burr. Under the original Constitution, the candidate winning the most votes became POTUS, the winner of the second most votes Vice-POTUS. With the vote a tie, the election went to the House of Representatives. Federalists hated both men, but when Jefferson compromised again, promising to keep Hamilton's economic plan intact and to keep Federalists in government jobs, the Federalists voted for Jefferson. To make sure that the problem did not recur, the Twelfth Amendment established that Electors vote for a party ticket or that they declare which vote was for which office. Thus political parties became a fixture of American politics.

8. War of 1812 Sometimes called the “Second War of Independence” or “Mr. Madison’s War,” it was the war between the U.S. and Britain. Although Washington was destroyed, the war was a tie. The war’s biggest losers were the Federalists. They opposed the war and met in the Hartford Convention to protest it. So when a feeling of nationalism resulted from it, the Federalists seemed unpatriotic. Leaderless, the Federalist Party died as a result.

9. Era of Good Feelings: The end of the War of 1812 ushered in a spirit of nationalism in America. The Federalist party disappeared, leaving a one-party nation. James Monroe won the presidency with 85% of the Electoral College vote in 1816 and 99.6% in 1820. Out of many, one

10. The Second Party System The American System:Henry Clay was a Republican, but an economic nationalist. His American system called for creating a second BUS, imposing protective tariffs, and spending federal tax money on internal improvements to unite the country, improve trade and national defense. As the sections split over internal improvements in the 1820s, it decayed the “Era of Good Feelings.” Henry Clay and John Quincy Adams represented a Nationalist-Republican faction, while Andrew Jackson and John C. Calhoun represented a Democratic-Republican faction.

11. “The Corrupt Bargain”:Alleged deal between Henry Clay and John Quincy Adams in the disputed 1824 election. Jackson took the most votes, but no majority in the Electoral College. The election went to the House, which voted for Adams. Jackson believed Clay and Adams had made a deal: in return the Secretary of State job, Clay would throw his support to Adams. Both men denied the charge, but it kindled a deep hatred between Clay and Jackson and started what might be called the Era of Hard Feelings.

12. Jacksonian Democracy Universal White Male Suffrage:During the 1820s, states began eliminating property restrictions on voting. In the 1828 election, Andrew Jackson claimed to represent the “common man,” and they voted for him in droves. Spoils System: Policy initiated by Jackson of granting government jobs and contracts to political supporters. After the 1828 election, Jackson swept government workers out of office and replaced them with his supporters, declaring “to the victor goes the spoils.” It helped build a Democratic Party, as men supported Jackson in return for political patronage. But it also politicized minor government jobs and meant that many office holders had no other qualification to work other than being a Jacksonian Democrat.

13. Whig Party:As Jackson removed political opponents from government jobs, two parties emerged: the Democratic Party of Andrew Jackson and the Whig Party, led by Henry Clay. • WHIGS: • • Encouraged industrial and commercial development • • Supported creation of a centralized economy • • Advocated for expansion of the federal government • DEMOCRATS: • • Distrusted unchecked business growth • Opposed the BUS, protective tariffs, and federally funded internal improvements • • Favored a limited federal government

14. The Monster Bank A key issue of the 1832 election was the recharter of Second BUS. Whigs wanted it, but Jackson opposed the bank, believing that it took power from the states. Jackson vetoed the renewal bill and had federal deposits removed from the BUS, putting them in “pet state banks.” As a result, a main organizing mechanism of the economy was eliminated. The economy crashed and America witnessed the Panic of 1837 and subsequent depression.

15. Sectionalism:The idea that the U.S. was less a united nation of similar culture, economy, and politics, than it was a loose federation of unique sections. Missouri Compromise (1820): First in a series of compromises over the extension of slavery into the western territories. Fashioned by Henry Clay, it (1) admitted Missouri as a slave state and (2) created Maine out of Massachusetts as a free state—keeping a balance between free and slave states; and (3) drew a line along latitude 36:30 dividing the region into free and slave territories: no slavery north of the line (except in Missouri).

16. Mexican War: In 1847, a border dispute between the U.S. and Mexico led to war. U.S. forces quickly defeated the Mexicans. In the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848), Mexico gave up its claim to Texas and ceded the Southwest to the U.S. Whether this land would be slave or free territory led to a political crisis that killed the Whig Party. Popular Sovereignty: Policy associated with Democrats. It tied into the federalism debate, saying that on issues such as slavery, decisions should be made on the local level not by Congress: people living in a territory should be allowed to have slavery if they want it. Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854): Law that negated the Missouri Compromise. It upheld popular sovereignty . It also marked the death of the Whig Party.

17. The Third Party System Republican Party: With the Whig Party’s demise, anti-slavery advocates merged several small parties into the Republican Party. The Republicans believed that “Free Soil” and “Free Labor” would lead to a freer and more prosperous society. A northern party, Republicans lost to popular sovereignty candidate, James Buchanan. Buchanan is considered the worst POTUS in U.S. history.

18. Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1865: Republican POTUS 1861-1865, Lincoln was a Whig Congressman in the 1840s, and lost the race for U.S. Senator from Illinois in 1858 to Stephen Douglas after a series of debates. An opponent of the expansion of slavery into the territories, he won the 1860 election because the Democrats split. His election as POTUS prompted states in the South to secede. With secession came war. Lincoln refused to acknowledge the South's right to secede and fought to restore the Union.