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The Federalist Era

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The Federalist Era started with the election of George Washington in 1789 and ended with Thomas Jefferson’s election in 1801. This period in American history saw many important events as a new government and procedures to run it had to be established. Some of those important events included the adoption of the United States Constitution and the passage of the Bill of Rights, the election of George Washington as the first President of the United States, and the creation of two political parties knows as the Federalist and Anti-Federalists, or Democrat-Republicans. The two parties debated over everything but from the beginning, the Anti-Federalists opposed the initial ratification of the Constitution and after being ratified, its interpretation. …show more content…
On February 4, 1789, Washington was unanimously elected as the first President of the United States. According to George Washington’s Mount Vernon, “Washington won the support of each participating elector.” This is important because even though Washington was a Federalists, no other president since has been unanimously elected. Washington knew that his actions would be a precedent for all future Presidents and in Washington Part I, he is quoted as saying, “No slip will pass unnoticed.” to show how transparent he was with his actions. During his time in office, Washington resolved many problems such as organizing the first United States Cabinet and the Executive Branch and focused on foreign affairs and military matters. When Washington retired from the Presidency in 1796, he gave a farewell address which dealt mainly with domestic issues but he also outlined future U.S. foreign policy which held for almost 100 years. In the address, according to Washington Part II, he says “observe good faith and justice towards all nations…It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances.” This foreign policy was designed to keep America neutral and avoid unnecessary wars but it also contributed to a …show more content…
Alexander Hamilton, who served as the Secretary of the Treasury was the main driving force behind the Federalist party. It is said in George Washington’s Mount Vernon that Jefferson was “weary of Washington’s perceived preference for Hamilton’s agenda” so he resigned from the cabinet. The Federalists believed that government should be comprised of wealthy, highly educated men and that the national government should have more power than states. The Democrat-Republicans viewed the states more as a confederation of sovereign entities sharing a common national interest and thus should have more power than the national government. They also believed that common people had the common sense and skills to run the new government but according to Jefferson/Hamilton Viewpoints, the Federalists “believed that the common people often acted foolishly.” This shows that the two parties could not have been further

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