Dbq Federalists vs Democratic Republicans

1377 Words6 Pages
George Karam A.P. History Mr. Vieira 10/19/12 DBQ Since the dawn of American politics, there were two political factions, the Federalists led by John Adams and Alexander Hamilton, and the Anti-Federalists or Democratic Republicans led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Since the American Constitution was established in 1789, each side had its own interpretations to how to govern the United States based on the Constitution and its founders. The Democratic-Republicans were usually characterized as strict constructionists, which meant they believed in interpreting the Constitution by the exact words presented by its framers, and refused to change anything about it. The Federalists were usually characterized as loose constructionists, which meant they focused more on the intent of the constitution and its framers, and believed that changes were necessary for the development of the nation. Although Republicans and Federalists were characterized as having these particular views towards the enactment of the Constitution, when Jefferson and Madison served as Presidents during the beginning of the 19th century from 1800 to 1817, it was proven that even though they seemed to believe in their own views, in reality when time came, they started changing their beliefs and becoming both strict and loose constructionists for the good of the nation, which was strongly advocated by Henry Clay and his American System. The same would occur for the Federalists, so generally, each side did not accurately characterize itself during the early 19th century and proved each side had its similar interest when interpreting the Constitution. Before Jefferson became President in 1800, The Federalists dominated national politics for the first decade of America’s governmental history because of George Washington and John Adams favoring Federalist views. It was not until the

More about Dbq Federalists vs Democratic Republicans

Open Document