Party Politics in the 1790s The 1790s was a decade of significant political conf
ID: 344305 • Letter: P
Question
Party Politics in the 1790s The 1790s was a decade of significant political conflict as the new nation witnessed the rise of political parties in response to domestic and international developments. In 1789, there were no official political parties. By the end of the century, two political parties, the Federalists and Republicans, vied with one another for control of Congress and the presidency. In this discussion, you will explore the positions of one of these political parties REQUIRED READINGS Read the following sources for this discussion History in the Making- Chapter 10 Alien and Sedition Acts Kentucky Resolutions INSTRUCTIONS For this assignment, you will CHOOSE ONE of the political parties to write on: either the Federalists OR the Republicans. Choose whichever party interests you, or choose a party that you dont know much about. Once you choose your party, you will assume the role of a member from that party- pretend that you are either a Federalist or Republican from the 1790s. There are three parts to this assignment: 1. You will write a minimum of three paragraphs discussing the political, economic, and diplomatic views of your political party (based on the content from the textbook). Your political views will include your perspective on state and national government (how strong or weak should they be); your economic views will include your perspective on economic directions that the nations should take (or not take); your diplomatic views will include your perspective on France and England (which nation do you support? why?). 2. You will also write an additional paragraph on one of the primary source readings: If you are a Federalist, you will explain what the Alien and Sedition Acts are and give examples from the Acts that you think are necessary to support your position (ex: what parts of the Alien Acts are necessary for the survival of the United States?) If you are a Republican, you will explain what the Kentucky Resolutions are and give examples from the Resolutions that you think are necessary to support your position (ex: what role should states play when the national government oversteps its authority?). 3. Respond to at least two postings by other students. Use the voice of your political party when responding to the other postings (ex: if you are a Federalist, then either support a fellow Federalist or attack a Republican with respect, of course). Be sure that your responses are analytical and include material from the reading (ex: if you are a Republican, why do you despise a Federalist?) This means that you will write a MINIMUM OF 4 PARAGRAPHS that discuss your particular political party's perspective AND respond to at least two other postings. Your answers should reflect the main points from the textbook and primary source document for your political party, and be sure to use examples from the readings to support your main points. Proof your answers before submitting it as errors in grammar and spelling will lead to a deduction in points. Use quotations when using the exact wording from the reading. Most of your answer should be in your own words and be sure to cite any quotes used in your answer.Explanation / Answer
The American Revolution was one of the greatest events in history wherein the revolutionaries fought against their colonial master to attain freedom. However, the USA was not devoid of social problems even after attaining independence from the British rulers. The state of society was quite fragile, and there were frequent instances of skirmishes or revolts that took place in small counties. There was no strong national government that had the capability to ensure liberty, fraternity, and equality for the people of America. These issues were identified by the dynamic leaders of that time, and as a result, they started debating for a solution to these problems. They were divided into two factions and each had their own point of view which will be discussed in the following sections.
The federalists were the group of people who had understood the weakness of the present government structure wherein the state legislatures were more powerful than the center. As a result, they wanted to push through the ratification of the constitution, and in order to achieve that Alexander Hamilton had taken the lead to publish a series of essays. He invited James Madison and John Jay to publish their political writings under the pseudo name Publius, which became famous for its arguments.
The primary motive of James Madison behind the federalist paper 10 was that he believed there will be factions within the society who will try to usurp and harm the life of majority of peoplein order to further their own vested interests. Hence, this would lead to internal conflicts and destabilize the core structure of the American society. He thought about controlling the situation in two ways, namely, either by destroying such factions or controlling their effects on the society. The option of destroying any faction would mean getting rid of liberty enjoyed by the people, which was the primary reason everyone fought for freedom.
He also understood that individual interests will always persist because ofeconomic classifications in the society, and he also believed in maintaining such differences. A society with homogenous opinions was impossible, and therefore, different classes would exist in society with their own class interests. So he proposed for controlling the effects of the actions taken by such factions through the formation of a strong central government.