Document-Based Investigation The First American Political Parties Historical Context The documents below provide different perspectives on political parties in the federal period Task Examine the documents and answer the questions that follow. Then you will be asked to write an essay about the development of the first American political parties, using facts from the documents and from the chapter to support the position you take in your thesis statement. DOCUMENT 1 In 1796 George Washington decided not to seek re-election for a third term as president of the United States. In his famous Farewell Address, Washington warned Americans to avoid divisions based on political parties and geography. Below is a short excerpt from his address. I have already intimated to you the danger of Parties in the State, with particular reference to the founding of them on Geographical discriminations. Let me now warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of Party, generally The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to party dissention is itself a frightful despotism It serves always to distract the Public Council and enfeeble the Public Administration. It agitates the Community with ill founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one party against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. Name three ways Washington believed political parties could negatively affect the nation: Why might Washington have considered political parties based on geography to be dangerous? DOCUMENT 2
! Name: Period: In the election of 1800 between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, presidential power was transferred between political parties for the first time in the young nation s history. The electoral vote was sharply divided along geographic lines, as the map below shows. What regional voting pattern can you identify? DOCUMENT 3
! Name: Period: In 1798 one of the most controversial issues in the U.S. Congress was the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts. The Federalist government believed that Democratic-Republican criticism of Federalist policies was disloyal and that foreigners, or aliens, would sympathize with France during war. The political cartoon below depicts Congress in 1798. Roger Griswold, a Federalist, is using his cane to attack Matthew Lyon, a Democratic-Republican, who is retaliating with tongs. How does this cartoon characterize the political divisions in the United States in 1798? Why did the Democratic-Republicans respond so strongly against the Sedition Acts? Why did the Federalists believe it was necessary? DOCUMENT 4
The presidential campaign of 1800 was a bitter political struggle. Each party made accusations against the other. Democratic-Republicans believed the Federalist president John Adams wanted to turn the country into a monarchy. Federalists worried that Thomas Jefferson might have ties to revolutionary France. In Jefferson s Inaugural Address (1801), he called for the country to unite around common goals. Every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle. We have called by different names brethren of the same principle. We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists. 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 reason is left free to combat it Let us, then, with courage and confidence pursue our own Federal and Republican principles, our attachment to union and representative government. What does Jefferson believe about political parties? Why might Jefferson have made this plea for unity in his inaugural address?
Explain and analyze the development of the first American political parties during the period 1794-1801. Did the presence of political parties help or harm the nation? Use at least two documents to support your answer. Consider the question above and develop a thesis statement: