The political views of the citizens of the United States of America are now clearly divided. The country has established the most prominent and influential two-party system. The confrontation between Democrats and Republicans significantly affects America’s domestic and foreign policy. The history of the parties’ development dates back to the time of the introduction of the constitution and the formation of the United States as an independent state. Although American politicians were initially against parties and did not include their possibility in the constitution, they subsequently provoked their appearance.
The first American parties were the Federalist Party led by Hamilton and the Democratic-Republican Party created by Madison and Jefferson. Their emergence was due to different views on important political issues and the need to seek voter support in this regard. Federalists advocated improving relations with Britain for the sake of trade: “Hamilton also had a vision of a nation busy engaged in foreign trade” (Basile et al., 2019, p.104). Their opponents were afraid of Britain’s relations and “saw the treaty as the American state favoring Britain over France” (Basile et al., 2019, p.105). Another stumbling block was the question of the structure of the state. Federalists advocated a strong central government, and Madison, Jefferson preferred decentralization and strengthening state authorities’ influence. In this way, their various visions became the reasons for the division into parties.
Summing up, it can be argued that the primaries of modern parties appeared at the beginning of the American state’s formation. Although politicians did not want to divide the country with parties, and the first president was non-partisan, as the state developed politically, views began to differ. The party created by Hamilton advocated a centralized government and the restoration of relations with Britain. Their opponents, the party of Madison and Jefferson, were afraid of a single government’s tyranny and supported decentralization, and did not agree with the desire to develop trade with Britain.
Reference
Basile, M., Green, N., Kennedy, B., McBride, S., Nero, A., Rogers, C., Strauch, T., Taylor, M., Taylor, J., Wisniewski, K., & Wright B. (2019). A New Nation. In D. Boster, C. Hurford, and J. Nardone (Eds.), The American Yawp. Vol. 1, A derivative of The American Yawp (pp. 95-112). Stanford University Press.