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How Did George Washington Sought To Encourage The Creation Of Political Parties

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In George Washington’s Farewell Address, he highly discouraged the creation of political parties. They would divide America, and ultimately bring the country to collapse. But since before its creation, America has always found a way to categorize people into groups; whether they be Patriots or Loyalists, Federalists or Anti-federalists, ect. Though Washington was probably right to warn America, political parties are almost unavoidable. Ratified in 1781, the Articles of Confederation sparked the creation of political parties. When the Articles proved to be too weak, many wanted to replace it with what is today the Constitution. These people that supported a strong central government called themselves Federalists. With Alexander Hamilton as their …show more content…

The Democratic-Republicans maintained their strong southern support and peacefully took power after Jefferson was elected. Their victory led to the deterioration of the Federalist party. Without the tension of two strong opposing parties, the Era of Good Feelings began in 1816. However, conflict arose again due to the election of 1824. The election of 1824 consisted of four candidates: Henry Clay, Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, and William Crawford. Because there was no electoral college majority, the decision was turned over to the House of Representatives (of which Henry Clay was Speaker.) Andrew Jackson had the most popular and electoral votes, yet the House chose John Quincy Adams. When Adams chose Clay as his Secretary of State, Jackson accused Adams of corruption. His popularity as a war hero helped him gain support to form what would become the Democratic Party. Jackson was elected in 1829, and immediately began his fight against the national bank. Henry Clay and others that opposed Jackson’s political ideologies formed the Whig party, which wanted a more powerful Congress and weaker

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