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The Rise and Fall of Factions in the United States

After the American Revolutionary War, George Washington became the first president of

the United States in 1789 (and later in 1792). He immediately started working on different

projects to make the country strong, knowing that his every action would set a precedent. Even

after the revolution, the country was not completely unified as North Carolina and Rhode Island

were still not part of the Union, and Vermont Republic had still not taken any decisive stance,

regarding its status. Washington believed in the tolerance of opposition voices and encouraged

the difference of opinion in the cabinet, even after knowing that it would lead to opposition and

differences.

The cabinet members were known for forming rival parties and having strong

disagreements with each other. Washington was not a member of any political party and hoped

that they would never be formed. However, Alexander Hamilton created the Federalist Party

with the idea of forming a strong federal government while Thomas Jefferson formed the

Jeffersonian Republicans which, after gaining support, emerged as the Democratic Republican-

Party. Both the parties opposed each other and their ideologies.

During the French Revolution, Washington maintained neutrality and refused to take

sides. But Jeffersonians supported France, and Hamilton wanted Washington to make a treaty

with Great Britain (known as Jay Treaty), encouraging them to remove financial debts and start

trade with America in return for their support. Washington agreed to sign the treaty which
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brought prosperous trade and delayed the war with Great Britain but made the French feel

betrayed, and later on led to the Quasi-War in 1798. There were fierce debates in the congress

over the Jay Treaty that ultimately led to the evolution of factions into nationwide parties,

roughly known as Federalists and Anti-Federalists.

After being elected as the president of the United States for two times, George

Washington refused to become a candidate in the elections of 1796. The Democratic-Republican

Party named Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr as their presidential choices. The Federalist Party

named John Adams, a leader of the movement for the American Revolution, and Thomas

Pinckney as their candidates. Extensive efforts were made for the campaigning of their

respective candidate by both the parties, but all the candidates avoided campaigning for office

themselves.

During the elections of 1796, John Adams won the presidency against Jefferson and

became the second president of the United States. Adams supported the Federalist Party but

opposed Alexander Hamilton and had disagreements with the Democrats as well. Adams was

independent of both the parties, and had his own views and ideas of things. By that time, Britain

and France were at war with each other. The Federalist Party was supporting Britain while the

Democratic-Republican Party favored France, and due to the assistance of France during the

Revolutionary War most of the people were also pro-French.

But Adams had his own views and decided to not meddle in the European war. However,

French felt offended by this stance of the government and presumed it to be a supporter of

Britain. The French started seizing American merchant ships and soon the country was standing

at the verge of war with France. Fore sighting a full fledge war with France, Adams sent a

diplomatic commission consisting of Pinckney, John Marshall and Elbridge Gerry to France for
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negotiations. The negotiations failed despite great efforts and the country once again plunged

into war, known as the Quasi-War.

Adams rebuilt the Navy and improved the military by imposing new taxes on property.

Some of the pro-American Federalists were supporters of war, while the Republicans were

totally against it. The difference of opinions created a lot of tension in the country and even

divided both the parties from within themselves. The patriotic spirit and unity required to pull the

entire nation into war with France was therefore missing. Hoping for peace, Adams then sent

William Vans Murray to France with peace offerings. Napoleon accepted the message and

friendly relations resumed between the two countries. Adams was successful in avoiding war but

it was at the cost of his image. With his party completely split over his negotiation with the

France and the daunting opposition from the Democratic Party, the elections of 1800 consisted of

fierce and bitter campaigns and malicious personal attacks.

Thomas Jefferson of the Republicans Party won the elections of 1800, and became the

third president of the United States. His main focus was to eliminate the national debt as he

considered it a threat to the republican values. Jefferson, along with Albert Gallatin, the chief

expert of Republican Party on fiscal issues and the Treasury Secretary, worked hard to lower the

taxes and pay off the debt. Jefferson was finally able to pay off the debt in 1835. Jefferson’s first

term was a huge success and he was again elected as the president in 1804.

Despite strong opposition and criticism, the Democratic-Republican Party won the

elections again in 1809, and James Madison was elected as the fourth president of the United

States. The British government was aware of the political conflict within America, and knew the

views of the Democratic-Republican Party towards Britain’s policies and the French Revolution.
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Moreover, the British kept attacking American merchant ships from time to time, which made

the American public furious and ready for war.

The two nations finally plunged into war in 1812. In the Federalist areas the support for

the war was weak, only a few men volunteered to fight, and the banks refused to provide funds

for the war. At the beginning of the war, Madison had hoped to capture Canada in the first few

months, but after dealing with coward and incompetent army officers and lack of support from

the Federalists, the situation seemed much more difficult.

However, the American public seemed extremely motivated about defeating the British,

and wanted to establish an image of America as a powerful country. The negativity of the

Federalist Party towards the war destroyed its reputation among the public, while the

Democratic-Republican Party won country-wide support and Madison was once again elected as

the president of the United States in the elections of 1813.

After the war, Madison decided to create a strong central bank and established the

Second Bank of the United States in 1816. He also implemented a taxation system and took

necessary steps to make sure that the country had a strong standing professional military. James

Monroe became the next president of the United States, in the elections of 1816. By then the

political tensions had reduced, the Federalist Party had collapsed and a sense of unity and

national purpose was reflected in the United States.

Monroe gave up on the party politics and avoided attacking the Federalist Party in his

speeches. He reflected the feelings of oneness and a sense of purpose and desire for unity among

the Americans. During his administration, the Federalist Party became weak and lost its

influence in national politics. Moreover, the Democratic-Republican Party also stopped operating

for practical purposes and the country saw the end of the bitter disputes of both parties. In the
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presidential elections of 1920, the Federalist Party did not run any candidate against him and he

was again elected as the president of the United States. During his presidency, Monroe worked

on building warmer relations with the British and was successful in starting naval trade with the

British again.

James Monroe was succeeded by John Quincy Adams in 1924. Adams promised to adapt

non-political policy and avoid party-building. However, Adams’s policies were largely opposed

and were considered as a dangerous expansion of federal power. The one-party Era of Good

Feelings ended with the Adam’s supporters forming National Republicans, and Andrew

Jackson’s supporters became known as the Democratic Party.

The factions and entangling alliances, as a part of life in the United States, were almost

inevitable. The nature of man and the conflicting ideologies always lead to opposition and the

formation of different groups. The beauty of politics lies in the difference of opinions and critical

thinking. It can be argued that the conflicting ideologies of opposition parties and the difference

of views actually helped shape the modern-day America. The difference of opinion ensured a

true and transparent functioning of the government and allowed the public to evaluate and review

the performance of their elected political party and refine their views about that respective

political group, and elect a representative party of their choice.

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The Curse of Slavery

The first slaves were brought into America to help in the production of tobacco, rice and

indigo, in the harsh environment of the American frontier. Most of these slaves had their roots in

Africa and Iberia. In the beginning there were no slaves but indentured labor. These servants

would get freedom after a prescribed period of time, and then would become free and could even

buy slaves for themselves. The slaves were cheaper than the indentured labor and so the gradual

transformation of Africans to slavery started.

The real demand for slaves started after the invention of the cotton gin, a device that

removes the seeds from the cotton. After this, the whole southern economy moved towards a

large scale production of cotton instead of tobacco. With the development and increase in the

production of cotton and some other crops, slavery became more and more common and was

considered as a necessary evil by many prominent politicians and activists of that time. Hence, it

was crucial and beneficial for the southern states to keep slavery up and running. Until 1806, the

constitution of the United States defended the importation of slaves into America and prevented

their freedom.

In the early nineteenth century, different organizations decided to take action against

slavery. Some white organizations considered slavery a sin and promoted emancipation (the

freedom of slaves). There were a few successful revolts from the slave community as well,
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which led to the killing of their white masters. This, however, also caused the slave laws and

codes to become stricter.

Every state in the North was against slavery and demanded equality for all. Different

movements led by free blacks, and white supporters such as William Lloyd Garrison, eventually

started gaining strength. Free blacks and other antislavery northerners started helping slaves in

the south to escape into North. It is estimated that approximately a 100,000 slaves were freed

through the Underground Railroad.

The anti-slave movements bore fruit, by Congress prohibiting the international trade and

import of the slaves. However, the illegal smuggling of slaves became common and joint efforts

were made by British and American forces to stop it. The growing international demand for

cotton increased the cotton cultivation in the south and the need of slave labor has also increased

dramatically. Domestic slave trade became commonplace and many slaves were forcefully sold

and moved, breaking families in the process. By 1840s more than 100,000 slaves were

transported to Alabama and Mississippi each.

The slaves suffered very harsh treatment from their masters. Unable to perform their

work or not being able to lift enough cotton was usually punished by whipping, mutilation,

burning, beating and imprisonment. Sometimes the slaves were punished simply to assert the

dominance of the master over the slave. Abraham Lincoln in his presidential elections, supported

the ban of slavery in the United States. There were eight states, which later became to be known

as the Confederates, which rejected the Republican Party and refused to give up on slavery. This

eventually led to the American Civil War.

After 4 years of war, it finally ended with more than 700,000 soldiers dead, the whole

infrastructure of the south, including the railroads, mills and transportation system was
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destroyed. The economy took a great hit and the Confederacy finally collapsed. More than 4

million slaves were freed and slavery was finally abolished.

The whole purpose of war was to eliminate slavery in the United States, and it could have

been avoided if the previous governments had taken steps to control and limit slavery. Before

Civil War, the constitution of the United States considered slaves human, but didn’t give them a

right to live. It also prevented them from getting education. The slave owners took advantage of

these laws and used the slaves however they wanted to. Had the constitution was amended in

favor of slaves, giving them equal rights as human beings, ensuring their safety and discouraging

their killing and oppression, the circumstances could have been better and the war could have

been avoided.