Madison Harloff
October 21, 2017
Paper 2
Difference Between Federalists and Democratic Republicans
As America began coming together as their own country, it seemed that the only thing separating the soon to be colonies from Great Britain was the sea. Some men wanted to bring the ideals that helped England prosper, while others were excited to bring about new ideals. In the coming Americas were two parties, with two different ideas on how to separate from Britain, but continuing to prosper. The Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, believed in a strong central government, were pro British and did not have faith in the common people. The Democratic Republicans believed in a limited government, did not support British ideals and believed in the common man. The main difference between the Federalists and the Democratic Republicans was their approach to government and how they believed it should be involved in the development of America.
To begin, the Federalists were made up mostly of merchants, bankers, manufactures and wealthy farmers that lived along the coast of New England. The majority of the men making up this political party were well-educated and owned property. The Federalists believed in a strong central government, as it had been in England. Like overseas, they believed in the elite ruling and controlling the states. Hamilton and his party did not believe in self-governing, as they did not trust the common man to make such important decision about the government.
Unlike the elite likes of the Federalists, the Democratic-Republicans, led by Thomas Jefferson were the “common man”. They were the artisans, shopkeepers, frontier settlers, and farmers- and although plenty, they were mostly illiterate, ill educated and in some cases poor. These men lived in-land away from the coast towards the interior of our soon to be country. The Republicans stood for limited government and allowing the states to self govern. While the Federalists did not agree that all men were capable of voting, the Republicans did.
The main difference between the two parties at this time was their stance on government involvement and how it would be involved in the development of America, as we know it. On one side of things, the Federalists, believed in a very hands on government. This would allow more control of the people by the government. This controlled government would be based off and tied to an industrial economy. Hamilton believed in a thriving business economy led by manufacturing, commerce, finance, and international trade. Along with this busine...
