The American Revolution had just ended as the colonies had united to ward off the most powerful military in the world. The Americans had gained their independence and now had a vast amount of land to themselves. The excitement surrounding this time period is incalculable. The Americans knew they needed to implement some type of government in order to keep the peace. However, the first form of government used under the Articles of Confederation was a failure. Soon, the United States Constitution was ratified and the people were once again able to rally behind their country with a revived sense of national pride and unity. Still, many questions remained for the newborn country throughout the presidencies of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. …show more content…
The first two major political parties were the Federalists and the Jeffersonians/Republicans. The Federalists, who were led by Alexander Hamilton, favored a stronger central government, favored a broad interpretation of the Constitution, and wanted to establish a stronger relationship with Britain. Opposingly, the Jeffersonians/Republicans, who were lead by Thomas Jefferson, favored states’ rights, favored a strict interpretation of the Constitution, and wanted a stronger relationship with France (Bixby, Formation of Political Parties). The parties also had different ideas on how to handle the debt accumulated by the United States during the American Revolution. Hamilton advocated that the federal government should pay off all of it foreign debt and accrued interest as well as assume all of the war debts of the states. By doing this, Hamilton hoped to gain people’s trust in the federal government, thus leading to investors being more confident in spending money, thus leading to a flourishing economy. However, the Jeffersonians/Republicans did not agree with this plan. Instead, they wanted to ensure that investors in Continental bonds were compensated completely for their bonds. Once again, by doing this, Jeffersonians/Republicans hoped to appease investors with the hopes of them being willing to reinvest in the future, thus stimulating the