Political Parties Dbq Essay

The two main ice cream flavors are vanilla and chocolate. Oftentimes when you ask someone which they like better, they have a definite answer. Most people feel very strongly about which flavor is better and will argue with others about it. This is very similar to how political parties were in the United States. They were very controversial and caused lots of arguing and disagreement. During George Washington’s presidency, political parties were first officially formed. They got so out of hand that they ended up destroying Washington’s first cabinet. Back then, there were two main political parties. These included Federalists and Democratic-Republicans. Alexander Hamilton and Henry Knox were Federalists. Thomas Jefferson was a Democratic-Republican.

In George Washington’s farewell address, he intended to warn the country to avoid divisions based on political parties and geography. (Doc. 1) In the Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States, Jefferson stated “If there be any among us who would wish to dissolve this Union or to change its republican form, let them stand undisturbed as monuments of the safety with which error of opinion may be tolerated where reasons is left free to combat it.”(Doc.4) Jefferson is practically begging the different political parties to work together. He pleaded to the nation that they needed to work together. This shows us how divided the country was due to political parties. He desperately wanted everyone to work together because they were so divided and apart. This allows us to see how strongly the citizens

Washington’s farewell address states, “It serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration.” (Doc. 1) Here Washington is saying how political parties divert and weaken the government. He is also saying that the parties stir up the community over fibs which start hostilities and riots. The parties together are so hateful and damaging that instead of strengthening the government they incapacitated it. They destroyed how the government worked together by dividing everyone apart. The image Congressional Pugilists shows two men of different political parties physically fighting with each other. (Doc.3) In this image, Matthew Lyon, a Democratic-Republican, and Roger Griswold, a Federalist, are attacking each other due to a disagreement about the Sedition Acts. (Doc.3) These men fighting each other not only with words but also with actions is an example of how impossible it was for the parties to get along. Their fighting did not help them reach their end goal because it was too distracting for the government. The government was shifting its focus to the disputing parties instead of trying to solve other big problems. In other words, this quarrel distracted the government from its other duties. The government was weakened because it was too focused on unifying the parties that the other issues got pushed