Federalists and Republicans Comparison

440 Words2 Pages
There were major differences in the way Federalists and Republican viewed politics, economics, foreign affairs, and Constitutional philosophy. Politically, the Federalist Party advocated for a strong centralized national government. Headed by Alexander Hamilton and John Adams, the Federalists believed in developing industry in America, as well as trade and strong economic policies. The Federalist Party was mainly supported by bankers and rich businessmen, and favored policies that supported their interests. The Republicans had a much different perspective on politics. The preferred a simpler, agricultural economy and their vision for America was based on agrarian beliefs. Headed by Thomas Jefferson, the Republicans, or Jeffersonians as they were sometimes called, strongly favored more power for the states, instead of the centralized government that the Federalists favored. The Republicans were strongly opposed to the Federalists beliefs, fearing that the expansion of a national government would strip them of their rights and start to resemble that of England’s monarchy. The majority of Republicans were farmers and common folk. Economically, the views of the two parties were much different. The Federalists supported manufacturing, banks, industrialization, and urbanization. Alexander Hamilton pushed for a strong, commercialized economy. The Federalists felt that industrializing the nation would help strengthen the development of commerce and manufacturing. The Republicans, however, had a much simpler economical approach. Primarily farmers, the Republican were an agricultural society, and they did not believe in the development of commerce and manufacturing. Thomas Jefferson believed that the agrarian farmers were economically self-sufficient, which created financial and political independence. The two parties’ views of foreign affairs also differed.
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