Examine the development of political parties in the United States during the 1790s. What were the causes and issues? What were the political philosophies of the Federalists and the Republicans?
Political opinion began to show two distinct groups by George Washington’s second term as president. These groups would differ in their views of domestic and foreign policy alike. The Alien and Sedition Acts, Whiskey Rebellion, and French Revolution were some of the catalysts that sparked controversies between the two parties. Democrat-Republican and Federalists views on these issues would split into a two party political war that would come to a head in the election of 1800. A large government was one fundamental belief of Federalists. They were anti-French in foreign policy and favored trade with Britain. They also believed that normal people should not vote on policies but elect elites to office to make these decisions for them without influence of popular opinion. With the introduction of the Alien and Sedition Acts, Federalists drove a wedge between the political views of the country that would never