American Political Parties

Paper Summary:

Even before the adoption of the Constitution, political parties were beginning to form in American. The paper shows that those who favored the Constitution were called Federalists and were led by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. Another group, led by Thomas Jefferson, opposed the adoption of the Constitution and was known as Anti-federalists. The paper describes how the Anti-federalists broke up after the Constitution was ratified, but they set the stage for the development of other political parties, resulting in the two party system that we have today.

Table of Contents:
I. Introduction
II. The Development of Political Parties
III. The Constitution and Political Parties
IV. The Changing Ideology of Political Parties
V. Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Political parties realign their ideologies to meet changing times and sentiments. For example, the Antifederalists and their successors favored an agrarian economy and a strict interpretation of the Constitution. But, once Jefferson became President, he had to change his philosophy because the Louisiana Purchase could only be justified by a broad interpretation of the Constitution. He also saw that the future of the country was tied to manufacturing and trade, so he dropped his opposition to these activities. Today, Democrats, who started out as states rights advocates and who preferred limited federal power now generally favor bigger government, federal involvement, and social intervention."

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