Republicans Vs. Federalists

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Republicans vs. Federalists Abby Weigel THE # 4 The Federalist and the Democratic-Republicans were two political parties that were formed in the 1790’s, due to the debate and controversies of the new government. Fighting between these two political groups was focused more on their views of democracy, government power, the economy, and foreign affairs. The Government/Democracy, the Economics, and Foreign affairs were the subjects that caused all the heated debates and arguments between the two political parties. The Federalists supported a totally different form of government than the Republicans. The Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, favored a strong central government who had the power to tax, make treaties, control exports/imports, and declare war. On the other hand, The Republicans, led by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, were for a limited central government, whose role was minor. In other words, The Republicans favored stronger local and state governments while the Federalists agreed more with the idea of a powerful central government. Democracy of America could not be agreed on; The Federalists didn’t want a whole lot of it, however, The Republicans were all for it. The Republicans wanted the power of the government/democracy to be in the direct hands of the people, the majority of the people who supported the Republicans were the poor/middle class workers and farmers. Conversely, the Federalists tried their best to gain the support of the wealthy and powerful. They wanted a well-educated ruling class that would be in charge of representing the people. Economics were another issue the two parties could not agree on. Like the strong central government, the Federalists were in favor of a strong national bank. Alexander Hamilton came up with a Bank Bill, which sparked the largest controversy and heated debate; it came to be known as the Bank

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