First Party System - wikipedia First Party System United States presidential election results between 1796 and 1820. Green shaded states usually voted for the Democratic - Republican Party, while brown shaded states usually voted for the Federalist Party. The First Party System is a model of American politics used in history and political science to periodize the political party system that existed in the United States between roughly 1792 and 1824. It featured two national parties competing for control of the presidency, Congress, and the states : the Federalist Party, created largely by Alexander Hamilton, and the rival Jeffersonian Democratic - Republican Party, formed by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, usually called at the time the `` Republican Party. '' The Federalists were dominant until 1800, while the Republicans were dominant after 1800. In an analysis of the contemporary party system, Jefferson wrote on February 12, 1798 : Two political Sects have arisen within the U.S. the one believing that the executive is the branch of our government which the most needs support ; the other that like the analogous branch in the English Government, it is already too strong for the republican parts of the Constitution ; and therefore in equivocal cases they incline to the legislative powers : the former of these are called federalists, sometimes aristocrats or monocrats, and sometimes Tories, after the corresponding sect in the English Government of exactly the same definition : the latter are stiled republicans, Whigs, jacobins, anarchists, dis - organizers, etc. these terms are in familiar use with most persons. Both parties originated in national politics, but soon expanded their efforts to gain supporters and voters in every state. The Federalists appealed to the business community, the Republicans to the planters and farmers. By 1796 politics in every state was nearly monopolized by the two parties, with party newspapers and caucuses becoming especially effective tools to mobilize voters. The Federalists promoted the financial system of Treasury Secretary Hamilton, which emphasized federal assumption of state debts, a tariff to pay off those debts, a national bank to facilitate financing, and encouragement of banking and manufacturing. The Republicans, based in the plantation South, opposed a strong executive power, were hostile to a standing army and navy, demanded a strict reading of the Constitutional powers of the federal government, and strongly opposed the Hamilton financial program. Perhaps even more important was foreign policy, where the Federalists favored Britain because of its political stability and its close ties to American trade, while the Republicans admired the French and the French Revolution. Jefferson was especially fearful that British aristocratic influences would undermine republicanism. Britain and France were at war from 1793 -- 1815, with only one brief interruption. American policy was neutrality, with the federalists hostile to France, and the Republicans hostile to Britain. The Jay Treaty of 1794 marked the decisive mobilization of the two parties and their supporters in every state. President George Washington, while officially nonpartisan, generally supported the Federalists and that party made Washington their iconic hero. The First Party System ended during the Era of Good Feelings ( 1816 -- 1824 ), as the Federalists shrank to a few isolated strongholds and the Democratic - Republicans lost unity. In 1824 -- 28, as the Second Party System emerged, the Democratic - Republican Party split into the Jacksonian faction, which became the modern Democratic Party in the 1830s, and the Henry Clay faction, which was absorbed by Clay 's Whig Party. Contents 1 Federalists versus Anti-Federalists in 1787 -- 88 2 Washington administration ( 1789 -- 1797 ) 3 Newspapers as party weapons 4 Party strength in Congress 5 Inventing campaign techniques 6 War threats with Britain and France 6.1 National debt 7 Jefferson and the revolution of 1800 8 State parties 9 Era of Good Feelings 10 Legitimacy of a party system 11 Historical legacy 12 See also 13 References 14 Further reading 14.1 General 14.2 Biographies 14.3 Newspapers and authors 14.4 State and regional studies 14.5 Primary sources 14.6 External links Federalists versus Anti-Federalists in 1787 -- 88 Further information : The Federalist Papers Leading nationalists, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and Benjamin Franklin ( see Annapolis Convention ), called the Constitutional Convention in 1787. It drew up a new constitution that was submitted to state ratification conventions for approval. ( The old Congress of the Confederation approved the process. ) James Madison was the most prominent figure ; he is often referred to as `` the father of the Constitution. '' An intense debate on ratification pitted the `` Federalists '' ( who supported the Constitution, and were led by Madison and Hamilton ) against the `` Anti-Federalists, '' ( who opposed the new Constitution ). The Federalists won and the Constitution was ratified. The Anti-Federalists were deeply concerned about the theoretical danger of a strong central government ( like that of Britain ) that someday could usurp the rights of the states. The framers of the Constitution did not want or expect political parties would emerge, because they considered them divisive. The term `` Federalist Party '' originated around 1792 -- 93 and refers to a somewhat different coalition of supporters of the Constitution in 1787 -- 88 as well as entirely new elements, and even a few former opponents of the Constitution ( such as Patrick Henry ). Madison largely wrote the Constitution and was thus a Federalist in 1787 -- 88, but he opposed the program of the Hamiltonians and their new `` Federalist Party. '' Washington administration ( 1789 -- 1797 ) Further information : Presidency of George Washington § Rise of political parties At first, there were no parties in the nation. Factions soon formed around dominant personalities such as Alexander Hamilton, the Secretary of the Treasury, and Thomas Jefferson, the Secretary of State, who opposed Hamilton 's broad vision of a powerful federal government. Jefferson especially objected to Hamilton 's flexible view of the Constitution, which stretched to include a national bank. Jefferson was joined by Madison in opposing the Washington administration, leading the `` Anti-Administration party ''. Washington was re-elected without opposition in 1792. Hamilton built a national network of supporters that emerged about 1792 -- 93 as the Federalist Party. In response, Jefferson and James Madison built a network of supporters of the republic in Congress and in the states that emerged in 1792 -- 93 as the Democratic - Republican Party. The elections of 1792 were the first contested on anything resembling a partisan basis. In most states, the congressional elections were recognized in some sense, as Jefferson strategist John Beckley put it, as a `` struggle between the Treasury department and the republican interest. '' In New York, the race for governor was organized along these lines. The candidates were John Jay, who was a Hamiltonian, and incumbent George Clinton, who was allied with Jefferson and the Republicans. In 1793, the first Democratic - Republican Societies were formed. They supported the French Revolution, which had just seen the execution of King Louis XVI, and generally supported the Jeffersonian cause. The word `` democrat '' was proposed by Citizen Genet for the societies, and the Federalists ridiculed Jefferson 's friends as `` democrats. '' After Washington denounced the societies as unrepublican, they mostly faded away. In 1793, war broke out between England, France, and their European allies. The Jeffersonians favored France and pointed to the 1778 treaty that was still in effect. Washington and his unanimous cabinet ( including Jefferson ) decided the treaty did not bind the U.S. to enter the war ; instead Washington proclaimed neutrality. When war threatened with Britain in 1794, Washington sent John Jay to negotiate the Jay treaty with Britain ; it was signed in late 1794, and ratified in 1795. It averted a possible war and settled many ( but not all ) of the outstanding issues between the U.S. and Britain. The Jeffersonians vehemently denounced the treaty, saying it threatened to undermine republicanism by giving the aristocratic British and their Federalist allies too much influence. The fierce debates over the Jay Treaty in 1794 -- 96, according to William Nisbet Chambers, nationalized politics and turned a faction in Congress into a nationwide party. To fight the treaty the Jeffersonians `` established coordination in activity between leaders at the capital, and leaders, actives and popular followings in the states, counties and towns. '' In 1796 Jefferson challenged John Adams for the presidency and lost. The Electoral College made the decision, and it was largely chosen by the state legislatures, many of which were not chosen on a national party basis. Newspapers as Party weapons Federalist poster about 1800. Washington ( in heaven ) tells partisans to keep the pillars of Federalism, Republicanism and Democracy By 1796, both parties had a national network of newspapers, which attacked each other vehemently. The Federalist and Republican newspapers of the 1790s traded vicious barbs against their enemies. An example is this acrostic from a Republican paper ( note the sequence of first letters ) : A SK -- who lies here beneath this monument ? L o -- ' tis a self created MONSTER, who E mbraced all vice. His arrogance was like X erxes, who flogg 'd the disobedient sea, A dultery his smallest crime ; when he N obility affected. This privilege D ecreed by Monarchs, was to that annext. E nticing and entic 'd to ev'ry fraud, R enounced virtue, liberty and God. H aunted by whores -- he haunted them in turn A ristocratic was this noble Goat M onster of monsters, in pollution skill 'd I mmers 'd in mischief, brothels, funds & banks L ewd slave to lust, -- afforded consolation ; T o mourning whores, and tory - lamentation. O utdid all fools, tainted with royal name ; N one but fools, their wickedness proclaim. The most heated rhetoric came in debates over the French Revolution, especially the Jacobin Terror of 1793 -- 94 when the guillotine was used daily. Nationalism was a high priority, and the editors fostered an intellectual nationalism typified by the Federalist effort to stimulate a national literary culture through their clubs and publications in New York and Philadelphia, and through Federalist Noah Webster 's efforts to simplify and Americanize the language. Party strength in Congress Historians have used statistical techniques to estimate the party breakdown in Congress. Many Congressmen were hard to classify in the first few years, but after 1796 there was less uncertainty. The first parties were anti-federalist and federalist. Federalist and Democratic - Republican strength in Congress by election year House 1788 1790 1792 1794 1796 1798 1800 1802 1804 1806 Federalist 37 39 51 47 57 60 38 39 25 24 Democratic - Republican 28 30 54 59 49 46 65 103 116 118 Democratic - Republican 43 % 43 % 51 % 56 % 46 % 43 % 63 % 73 % 82 % 83 % Senate 1788 1790 1792 1794 1796 1798 1800 1802 1804 1806 Federalist 18 16 16 21 22 22 15 9 7 6 Democratic - Republican 8 13 14 11 10 10 17 25 17 28 Democratic - Republican 31 % 45 % 47 % 34 % 31 % 31 % 53 % 74 % 71 % 82 % Inventing campaign techniques Given the power of the Federalists, the Democratic Republicans had to work harder to win. In Connecticut in 1806 the state leadership sent town leaders instructions for the forthcoming elections ; every town manager was told by state leaders `` to appoint a district manager in each district or section of his town, obtaining from each an assurance that he will faithfully do his duty. '' Then the town manager was instructed to compile lists and total up the number of taxpayers, the number of eligible voters, how many were `` decided democratic republicans, '' `` decided federalists, '' or `` doubtful, '' and finally to count the number of supporters who were not currently eligible to vote but who might qualify ( by age or taxes ) at the next election. The returns eventually went to the state manager, who issued directions to laggard towns to get all the eligibles to town meetings, help the young men qualify to vote, to nominate a full ticket for local elections, and to print and distribute the party ticket. ( The secret ballot did not appear for a century. ) This highly coordinated `` get - out - the - vote '' drive would be familiar to modern political campaigners, but was the first of its kind in world history. The Jeffersonians invented many campaign techniques that the Federalists later adopted and that became standard American practice. They were especially effective at building a network of newspapers in major cities to broadcast their statements and editorialize in their favor. But the Federalists, with a strong base among merchants, controlled more newspapers : in 1796 the Federalist papers outnumbered the Democratic Republicans by 4 to 1. Every year more papers began publishing ; in 1800 the Federalists still had a 2 to 1 numerical advantage. Most papers, on each side, were weeklies with a circulation of 300 to 1000. Jefferson systematically subsidized the editors. Fisher Ames, a leading Federalist, who used the term `` Jacobin '' to link Jefferson 's followers to the terrorists of the French Revolution, blamed the newspapers for electing Jefferson, seeing them as `` an overmatch for any Government... The Jacobins owe their triumph to the unceasing use of this engine ; not so much to skill in use of it as by repetition. '' Historians echo Ames ' assessment. As one explains, It was the good fortune of the Republicans to have within their ranks a number of highly gifted political manipulators and propagandists. Some of them had the ability... to not only see and analyze the problem at hand but to present it in a succinct fashion ; in short, to fabricate the apt phrase, to coin the compelling slogan and appeal to the electorate on any given issue in language it could understand. Outstanding phrasemakers included editor William Duane, party leaders Albert Gallatin and Thomas Cooper, and Jefferson himself. Meanwhile, John J. Beckley of Pennsylvania, an ardent partisan, invented new campaign techniques ( such as mass distribution of pamphlets and of handwritten ballots ) that generated the grass - roots support and unprecedented levels of voter turnout for the Jeffersonians. War threats with Britain and France With the world thrown into global warfare after 1793, the small nation on the fringe of the European system could barely remain neutral. The Jeffersonians called for strong measures against Britain, and even for another war. The Federalists tried to avert war by the Jay Treaty ( 1795 ) with England. The treaty became highly controversial when the Jeffersonians denounced it as a sell - out to Britain, even as the Federalists said it avoided war, reduced the Indian threat, created good trade relations with the world 's foremost economic power, and ended lingering disputes from the Revolutionary War. When Jefferson came to power in 1801 he honored the treaty, but new disputes with Britain led to the War of 1812. In 1798 disputes with France led to the Quasi-War ( 1798 - 1800 ), an undeclared naval war involving the navies and merchant ships of both countries. Democratic - Republicans said France really wanted peace, but the XYZ Affair undercut their position. Warning that full - scale war with France was imminent, Hamilton and his `` High Federalist '' allies forced the issue by getting Congressional approval to raise a large new army ( which Hamilton controlled ), replete with officers ' commissions ( which he bestowed on his partisans ). The Alien and Sedition Acts ( 1798 ) clamped down on dissenters, including pro-Jefferson editors, and Vermont Congressman Matthew Lyon, who won re-election while in jail in 1798. In the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions ( 1798 ), secretly drafted by Madison and Jefferson, the legislatures of the two states challenged the power of the federal government. National debt Jefferson and Albert Gallatin focused on the danger that the public debt, unless it was paid off, would be a threat to republican values. They were appalled that Hamilton was increasing the national debt and using it to solidify his Federalist base. Gallatin was the Republican Party 's chief expert on fiscal issues and as Treasury Secretary under Jefferson and Madison worked hard to lower taxes and lower the debt, while at the same time paying cash for the Louisiana Purchase and funding the War of 1812. Burrows says of Gallatin : His own fears of personal dependency and his small - shopkeeper 's sense of integrity, both reinforced by a strain of radical republican thought that originated in England a century earlier, convinced him that public debts were a nursery of multiple public evils -- corruption, legislative impotence, executive tyranny, social inequality, financial speculation, and personal indolence. Not only was it necessary to extinguish the existing debt as rapidly as possible, he argued, but Congress would have to ensure against the accumulation of future debts by more diligently supervising government expenditures. Andrew Jackson saw the national debt as a `` national curse '' and he took special pride in paying off the entire national debt in 1835. Jefferson and the Revolution of 1800 Madison worked diligently to form party lines inside the Congress and build coalitions with sympathetic political factions in each state. In 1800, a critical election galvanized the electorate, sweeping the Federalists out of power, and electing Jefferson and his Democratic - Republican Party. Adams made a few last minute, `` midnight appointments '', notably Federalist John Marshall as Chief Justice. Marshall held the post for three decades and used it to federalize the Constitution, much to Jefferson 's dismay. As president, Jefferson worked to cleanse the government of Adams 's `` midnight appointments '', withholding the commissions of 25 of 42 appointed judges and removing army officers. The sense that the nation needed two rival parties to balance each other had not been fully accepted by either party ; Hamilton had viewed Jefferson 's election as the failure of the Federalist experiment. The rhetoric of the day was cataclysmic -- election of the opposition meant the enemy would ruin the nation. Jefferson 's foreign policy was not exactly pro-Napoleon, but it applied pressure on Britain to stop impressment of American sailors and other hostile acts. By engineering an embargo of trade against Britain, Jefferson and Madison plunged the nation into economic depression, ruined much of the business of Federalist New England, and finally precipitated the War of 1812 with a much larger and more powerful foe. The Federalists vigorously criticized the government, and gained strength in the industrial Northeast. However, they committed a major blunder in 1814. That year the semi-secret `` Hartford Convention '' passed resolutions that verged on secession ; their publication ruined the Federalist party. It had been limping along for years, with strength in New England and scattered eastern states but practically no strength in the West. While Federalists helped invent or develop numerous campaign techniques ( such as the first national nominating conventions in 1808 ), their elitist bias alienated the middle class, thus allowing the Jeffersonians to claim they represented the true spirit of `` republicanism. '' State parties Because of the importance of foreign policy ( decided by the national government ), of the sale of national lands, and the patronage controlled by the President, the factions in each state realigned themselves in parallel with the Federalists and Republicans. Some newspaper editors became powerful politicians, such as Thomas Ritchie, whose `` Richmond Junto '' controlled Virginia state politics from 1808 into the 1840s. New England was always the stronghold of the Federalist party. One historian explains how well organized it was in Connecticut : It was only necessary to perfect the working methods of the organized body of office - holders who made up the nucleus of the party. There were the state officers, the assistants, and a large majority of the Assembly. In every county there was a sheriff with his deputies. All of the state, county, and town judges were potential and generally active workers. Every town had several justices of the peace, school directors and, in Federalist towns, all the town officers who were ready to carry on the party 's work... Militia officers, state 's attorneys, lawyers, professors and schoolteachers were in the van of this `` conscript army. '' In all, about a thousand or eleven hundred dependent officer - holders were described as the inner ring which could always be depended upon for their own and enough more votes within their control to decide an election. This was the Federalist machine. '' Religious tensions polarized Connecticut, as the established Congregational Church, in alliance with the Federalists, tried to maintain its grip on power. Dissenting groups moved toward the Jeffersonians. The failure of the Hartford Convention in 1814 wounded the Federalists, who were finally upended by the Democratic - Republicans in 1817. Era of good Feelings The First Party System was primarily built around foreign policy issues that vanished with the defeat of Napoleon and the compromise settlement of the War of 1812. Furthermore, the fears that Federalists were plotting to reintroduce aristocracy dissipated. Thus an `` Era of Good Feelings '' under James Monroe replaced the high - tension politics of the First Party System about 1816. Personal politics and factional disputes were occasionally still hotly debated, but Americans no longer thought of themselves in terms of political parties. Historians have debated the exact ending of the system. Most concluded it petered out by 1820. The little state of Delaware, largely isolated from the larger political forces controlling the nation, saw the First Party System continue well into the 1820s, with the Federalists occasionally winning some offices. Legitimacy of a Party System Depiction of election - day activities in Philadelphia by John Lewis Krimmel, 1815 Alexander Hamilton felt that only by mobilizing its supporters on a daily basis in every state on many issues could support for the government be sustained through thick and thin. Newspapers were needed to communicate inside the party ; patronage helped the party 's leaders and made new friends. Hamilton, and especially Washington, distrusted the idea of an opposition party, as shown in George Washington 's Farewell Address of 1796. They thought opposition parties would only weaken the nation. By contrast Jefferson was the main force behind the creation and continuity of an opposition party. He deeply felt the Federalists represented aristocratic forces hostile to true republicanism and the true will of the people, as he explained in a letter to Henry Lee in 1824 : Men by their constitutions are naturally divided into two parties : 1. Those who fear and distrust the people, and wish to draw all powers from them into the hands of the higher classes. 2. Those who identify themselves with the people, have confidence in them, cherish and consider them as the most honest and safe, although not the most wise depositary of the public interests. In every country these two parties exist, and in every one where they are free to think, speak, and write, they will declare themselves. Call them, therefore, liberals and serviles, Jacobins and Ultras, whigs and tories, republicans and federalists, aristocrats and democrats, or by whatever name you please, they are the same parties still and pursue the same object. The last appellation of aristocrats and democrats is the true one expressing the essence of all. '' Hofstadter ( 1970 ) shows it took many years for the idea to take hold that having two parties is better than having one, or none. That transition was made possible by the successful passing of power in 1801 from one party to the other. Although Jefferson systematically identified Federalist army officers and officeholders, he was blocked from removing all of them by protests from republicans. The Quids complained he did not go far enough. Historical legacy While historians are not unanimous, Princeton scholar Sean Wilentz in 2010 identified a scholarly trend very much in Hamilton 's favor : In recent years, Hamilton and his reputation have decidedly gained the initiative among scholars who portray him as the visionary architect of the modern liberal capitalist economy and of a dynamic federal government headed by an energetic executive. Jefferson and his allies, by contrast, have come across as naïve, dreamy idealists. At best according to many historians, the Jeffersonians were reactionary utopians who resisted the onrush of capitalist modernity in hopes of turning America into a yeoman farmers ' arcadia. At worst, they were proslavery racists who wish to rid the West of Indians, expand the empire of slavery, and keep political power in local hands -- all the better to expand the institution of slavery and protect slaveholders ' rights to own human property. See also Federalist Era Second Party System, 1830s -- 1840s Third Party System, 1850s -- 1890s Fourth Party System, 1896 -- 1932 Fifth Party System Sixth Party System List of United States House of Representatives elections, 1789 -- 1822 American election campaigns in the 19th century History of the United States ( 1789 -- 1849 ) References Jump up ^ Chambers, 1972 Jump up ^ letter to John Wise in Francis N. Thorpe, ed `` A Letter from Jefferson on the Political Parties, 1798, '' American Historical Review v. 3 # 3 ( April 1898 ) pp 488 -- 89 Jump up ^ David Hackett Fischer, The Revolution of American Conservatism : The Federalist Party in the Era of Jeffersonian Democracy ( 1965 ) p 116 Jump up ^ Morris The Forging of the Union : 1781 -- 1789 pp 267 -- 97. ^ Jump up to : Wood ( 2009 ) Jump up ^ Richard Hofstadter, `` A Constitution against Parties '' in his The Idea of a Party System : The Rise of Legitimate Opposition in the United States, 1780 -- 1840 ( 1970 ) ch 2 Jump up ^ Elkins and McKitrick, p. 288 Jump up ^ Elkins and McKitrick, 405 -- 12 Jump up ^ Elkins and McKitrick, 417 -- 8 ; Goodman ( 1964 ) 71 -- 2. Jump up ^ Chambers, Political Parties p. 80 Jump up ^ Marcus Daniel, Scandal and Civility : Journalism and the Birth of American Democracy ( 2009 ) Jump up ^ Independent Chronicle ( Boston ), 16 October 1797 quoted in Donald Henderson Stewart ( 1969 ). The Opposition Press of the Federalist Period. SUNY Press. p. 541. Jump up ^ Catherine O'Donnell Kaplan, Men of Letters in the Early Republic : Cultivating Forms of Citizenship 2008 ) Jump up ^ Kenneth C. Martis, The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress, 1789 -- 1989 ( 1989 ) ; the numbers are estimates by historians. Jump up ^ Noble E. Cunningham, Jr. The Jeffersonian Republicans in Power : Party Operations 1801 -- 1809 ( 1963 ) p 129 Jump up ^ Stewart, Opposition Press, p. 622 Jump up ^ Cunningham, 1957 p 167 Jump up ^ Tinkcom 271 Jump up ^ Miller, Federalist Era pp 165 -- 78 Jump up ^ Miller, Federalist Era pp 210 -- 43 Jump up ^ Edwin G. Burrows. `` Gallatin, Albert '' in American National Biography Online ( 2000 ) Accessed Dec 03 2013 Jump up ^ Robert V. Remini ( 2008 ). Andrew Jackson. Macmillan. p. 180. Jump up ^ Miller, Federalist Era, pp. 251 -- 77 Jump up ^ Smelser, Democratic Republic Jump up ^ Samuel E. Morison, `` The First National Nominating Convention, 1808, '' The American Historical Review, Vol. 17, No. 4 ( July 1912 ), pp. 744 -- 763 in JSTOR Jump up ^ Banner, To the Hartford Convention ( 1970 ) ; Wood ( 2009 ) pp. 216 -- 17. Jump up ^ Norman K. Risjord, The Old Republicans : southern conservatism in the age of Jefferson ( 1965 ) P. 179 ; Joseph H., Harrison, Jr., `` Oligarchs and Democrats : The Richmond Junto, '' Virginia Magazine of History & Biography ; 1970 78 ( 2 ) : 184 -- 198, Jump up ^ Richard J. Purcell, Connecticut in Transition : 1775 -- 1818 1963. p. 190. Jump up ^ Richard P. McCormick, The Second American Party System : Party Formation in the Jacksonian Era ( 1966 ) ch 1 Jump up ^ Skeen ( 1993 ), p. 77 Jump up ^ Jeffrey L. Pasley. `` The Tyranny of Printers '' : Newspaper Politics in the Early American Republic ( 2003 ) Jump up ^ Wood ( 2009 ) ch. 4 Jump up ^ Sean Wilentz, `` Book Reviews, '' Journal of American History Sept. 2010 v. 97 # 2 p 476. Wilentz notes that Wood ( 2009 ) is much more favorable toward Jefferson. Further reading General Banning, Lance. The Jeffersonian Persuasion : Evolution of a Party Ideology ( 1978 ) Ben - Atar, Doron and Barbara B. Oberg, eds. Federalists Reconsidered ( 1999 ), topical essays by scholars Beard, Charles A. The Economic Origins of Jeffersonian Democracy ( 1915 ) online edition Bowling, Kenneth R. and Donald R. Kennon, eds. Perspectives on the History of Congress, 1789 -- 1801. ( 2000 ) Brown, Roger H. The Republic in Peril : 1812 ( 1964 ), stresses intense hostility between partisans online edition Brown ; Stuart Gerry. The First Republicans : Political Philosophy and Public Policy in the Party of Jefferson and Madison Syracuse University Press. ( 1954 ) online. Buel, Richard. Securing the Revolution : Ideology in American Politics, 1789 -- 1815 ( 1972 ) Chambers, William Nisbet, ed. The First Party System ( 1972 ) Chambers, William Nisbet. Political Parties in a New Nation : The American Experience, 1776 -- 1809 ( 1963 ), political science perspective Charles, Joseph. The Origins of the American Party System ( 1956 ), reprints articles in William and Mary Quarterly Cunningham, Noble E., Jr. Jeffersonian Republicans : The Formation of Party Organization : 1789 -- 1801 ( 1957 ), highly detailed party history Cunningham, Noble E., Jr. The Jeffersonian Republicans in Power : Party Operations 1801 -- 1809 ( 1963 ), highly detailed party history Cunningham, Noble E., Jr. The Process of Government Under Jefferson ( 1978 ) Dawson, Matthew Q. Partisanship and the Birth of America 's Second Party, 1796 -- 1800 : Stop the Wheels of Government. Greenwood, ( 2000 ) online version Dinkin, Robert J. Campaigning in America : A History of Election Practices. ( Greenwood 1989 ) online version Elkins, Stanley and Eric McKitrick. The Age of Federalism ( 1995 ) online version, the standard highly detailed political history of 1790s also online at DOI : 10.1093 / acprof : oso / 9780195093810.001. 0001 online John Ferling ; A Leap in the Dark : The Struggle to Create the American Republic. Oxford University Press. ( 2003 ) online version ; survey Finkelman, Paul, ed. Encyclopedia of the New American Nation, 1754 -- 1829 ( 2005 ), 1600 pp. Fischer, David Hackett. The Revolution of American Conservatism : The Federalist Party in the Era of Jeffersonian Democracy ( 1965 ), shows that the upper class Federalists learned too late how to appeal to voters Freeman, Joanne B. `` The Election of 1800 : A Study in the Logic of Political Change. '' Yale Law Journal. Volume : 108. Issue : 8. 1999. pp : 1959 -- 1994. Goodman, Paul. `` The First American Party System '' in William Nisbet Chambers and Walter Dean Burnham, eds. The American Party Systems : Stages of Political Development ( 1967 ), 56 -- 89. Hoadley, John F. `` The Emergence of Political Parties in Congress, 1789 -- 1803. '' American Political Science Review ( 1980 ) 74 ( 3 ) : 757 -- 779. in JSTOR Looks at the agreement among members of Congress in their roll - call voting records. Multidimensional scaling shows the increased clustering of congressmen into two party blocs from 1789 to 1803, especially after the Jay Treaty debate ; shows politics was moving away from sectionalism to organized parties. Hofstadter, Richard. The Idea of a Party System : The Rise of Legitimate Opposition in the United States, 1780 -- 1840 ( 1970 ) Kerber, Linda K. Federalists in Dissent : Imagery and ideology in Jeffersonian America ( 1970 ) Lampi, Philip J. `` The Federalist Party Resurgence, 1808 - 1816 : Evidence from the New Nation Votes Database, '' Journal of the Early Republic ( Summer 2013 ) 33 # 2 pp. 255 -- 281 DOI : 10.1353 / jer. 2013.0029 Libby, O.G. `` Political Factions in Washington 's Administration, '' NDQ : North Dakota Quarterly ( 1913 ) vol 3 # 3 pp 293 -- 318 full text online, looks at votes of each Congressman Luetscher, George D. Early Political Machinery in the United States ( 1903 ) online Miller, John C. The Federalist Era : 1789 -- 1801 ( 1960 ), survey of political history Pasley, Jeffrey L. et al. eds. Beyond the Founders : New Approaches to the Political History of the Early American Republic ( 2004 ), topical essays by scholars Ratcliffe, Donald. `` The Right to Vote and the Rise of Democracy, 1787 - 1828, '' Journal of the Early Republic ( Summer 2013 ) 33 # 2 pp. 219 -- 254 DOI : 10.1353 / jer. 2013.0033 Schlesinger, Arthur, Jr., ed. History of American Presidential Elections, 1789 -- 2008 ( 2011 ) 3 vol and 11 vol editions ; detailed analysis of each election, with primary documents ; online v. 1. 1789 - 1824 -- v. 2. 1824 - 1844 -- v. 3. 1848 - 1868 -- v. 4. 1872 - 1888 -- v. 5. 1892 - 1908 -- v. 6. 1912 - 1924 -- v. 7. 1928 - 1940 -- v. 8. 1944 - 1956 -- v. 9. 1960 - 1968 -- v. 10. 1972 - 1984 -- v. 11. 1988 - 2001 Sharp, James Roger. American Politics in the Early Republic : The New Nation in Crisis ( 1993 ), political narrative of 1790s Slez, Adam, and John Levi Martin. `` Political Action and Party Formation in the United States Constitutional Convention, '' American Sociological Review, volume 72, Number 1, February 2007, pp. 42 -- 67 ( 26 ), says decisions in 1787 convention set up the outlines of the first party system Smelser, Marshall. The Democratic Republic, 1801 -- 1815 ( 1968 ) ( ISBN 0 - 06 - 131406 - 4 ) survey of political and diplomatic history Theriault, Sean M. `` Party Politics during the Louisiana Purchase, '' Social Science History 2006 30 ( 2 ) : 293 -- 324 ; doi : 10.1215 / 01455532 - 30 - 2 - 293 Wilentz, Sean. The Rise of American Democracy : Jefferson to Lincoln. ( 2005 ), broad - scale interpretation of political history Wiltse, Charles Maurice. The Jeffersonian Tradition in American Democracy ( 1935 ) Wood, Gordon S. Empire of Liberty : A History of the Early Republic, 1789 -- 1815 ( 2009 ) Biographies Banning, Lance. The Sacred Fire of Liberty : James Madison and the Founding of the Federal Republic ( 1995 ), to 1795 ; online edition Cunningham, Noble E., Jr., `` John Beckley : An Early American Party Manager, '' William and Mary Quarterly, 13 ( January 1956 ), 40 -- 52, in JSTOR Malone, Dumas. Jefferson and the Ordeal of Liberty v 3 ( ISBN 0 - 316 - 54469 - 8 ) ; Jefferson the President : First Term 1801 -- 1805 vol 4 ( ISBN 0 - 316 - 54480 - 9 ) ; Jefferson the President : Second term, 1805 -- 1809 vol 5 ( 1948 -- 70 ), the standard multivolume biography Miller, John C. Alexander Hamilton : Portrait in Paradox ( 1959 ), full scale biography ; online edition Schachner, Nathan. Aaron Burr : A Biography ( 1961 ), full scale biography online version Newspapers and authors Humphrey, Carol Sue The Press of the Young Republic, 1783 -- 1833 ( 1996 ) Knudson, Jerry W. Jefferson and the Press : Crucible of Liberty ( 2006 ) how 4 Republican and 4 Federalist papers covered election of 1800 ; Thomas Paine ; Louisiana Purchase ; Hamilton -- Burr duel ; impeachment of Chase ; and the embargo Daniel, Marcus, `` Scandal and Civility : Journalism and the Birth of American Democracy '' ( 2009 ) O'Donnell, Catherine. `` Literature and Politics in the Early Republic : Views from the Bridge, '' Journal of the Early Republic, Summer 2010, Vol. 30 # 2 pp 279 -- 292 ; looks at Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper, and John Adams in terms of gender studies, interdisciplinary studies, American identity, and the work of Jürgen Habermas, Gordon Wood and Bernard Bailyn. Pasley, Jeffrey L. `` The Tyranny of Printers '' : Newspaper Politics in the Early American Republic ( 2003 ) ( ISBN 0 - 8139 - 2177 - 5 ) Rollins, Richard. The Long Journey of Noah Webster ( 1980 ) ; Webster was an important Federalist editor Stewart, Donald H. The Opposition Press of the Federalist Era ( 1968 ), highly detailed study of Republican newspapers State and regional studies Banner, James M. To the Hartford Convention : The Federalists and the Origins of Party Politics in Massachusetts, 1789 -- 1815 ( 1970 ) Broussard, James H. The Southern Federalists : 1800 -- 1816 ( 1978 ) Formisano, Ronald. The Transformation of Political Culture : Massachusetts Parties, 1790s -- 1840s ( 1983 ) Fox, Dixon Ryan. The decline of aristocracy in the politics of New York ( 1919 ) shows the Federalists were too artistocratic to win elections online edition Goodman, Paul. The Democratic - Republicans of Massachusetts : Politics in a Young Republic ( 1964 ) Leonard, Gerald. The Invention of Party Politics : Federalism, Popular Sovereignty, and Constitutional Development in Jacksonian Illinois ( 2002 ) McCormick, Richard P. The Second Party System : Party Formation in the Jacksonian Era ( 1966 ) deals with the collapse of the First Party System, state by state Prince, Carl E. New Jersey 's Jeffersonian Republicans : The Genesis of an Early Party Machine, 1789 -- 1817 ( 1967 ) Risjord, Norman K. The Old Republicans : Southern Conservatism in the Age of Jefferson ( 1965 ) Risjord ; Norman K. Chesapeake Politics, 1781 -- 1800 ( 1978 ), covers Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina ; online edition Robertson, Andrew W. `` Reconceptualizing Jeffersonian Democracy, '' Journal of the Early Republic ( Summer 2013 ) 33 # 2 pp 317 -- 35 ; focus on historiography of turnout in states and localities. Tinkcom, Harry M. The Republicans and Federalists in Pennsylvania, 1790 -- 1801 : A Study in National Stimulus and Local Response ( 1950 ) Turner, Lynn Warren ; The Ninth State : New Hampshire 's Formative Years. ( 1983 ). Young, Alfred F. The Democratic Republicans of New York : The Origins, 1763 -- 1797 ( 1967 ) Primary sources Cunningham, Noble E., Jr. ed. The Making of the American Party System 1789 to 1809 ( 1965 ), short excerpts from primary sources Cunningham, Noble E., Jr., ed. Circular Letters of Congressmen to Their Constituents 1789 -- 1829 ( 1978 ), 3 vol ; political reports sent by Congressmen to local newspapers External links American Political History Online guide to WWW resources `` The First American Party System '' lesson plan for grades 9 -- 12 A New Nation Votes : American Election Returns, 1787 -- 1825 Political eras of the United States First Party System Second Party System Third Party System Fourth Party System Fifth Party System Sixth Party System Thomas Jefferson 3rd President of the United States ( 1801 -- 1809 ) 2nd U.S. Vice President ( 1797 -- 1801 ) 1st U.S. Secretary of State ( 1790 -- 1793 ) U.S. Minister to France ( 1785 -- 1789 ) 2nd Governor of Virginia ( 1779 -- 1781 ) Delegate, Second Continental Congress ( 1775 -- 1776 ) Founding documents of the United States A Summary View of the Rights of British America ( 1774 ) Initial draft, Olive Branch Petition ( 1775 ) Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms ( 1775 ) 1776 Declaration of Independence Committee of Five authored physical history `` All men are created equal '' `` Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness '' `` Consent of the governed '' 1786 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom freedom of religion French Revolution Co-author, Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen ( 1789 ) Presidency Inaugural Address ( 1801 1805 ) Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves Louisiana Purchase Lewis and Clark Expedition Corps of Discovery timeline Empire of Liberty Red River Expedition Pike Expedition Cumberland Road Embargo Act of 1807 Chesapeake -- Leopard affair Non-Intercourse Act of 1809 First Barbary War Native American policy Marbury v. Madison West Point Military Academy State of the Union Addresses ( texts 1801 1802 1805 ) Cabinet Federal judicial appointments Other noted accomplishments Early life and career Founder, University of Virginia history Land Ordinance of 1784 Northwest Ordinance 1787 Anti-Administration party Democratic - Republican Party Jeffersonian democracy First Party System republicanism Plan for Establishing Uniformity in the Coinage, Weights, and Measure of the United States ( 1790 ) Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions A Manual of Parliamentary Practice ( 1801 ) Jeffersonian architecture Barboursville Farmington Monticello gardens Poplar Forest University of Virginia The Rotunda The Lawn Virginia State Capitol White House Colonnades Other writings Notes on the State of Virginia ( 1785 ) 1787 European journey memorandums Indian removal letters Jefferson Bible ( 1895 ) Jefferson manuscript collection at the Massachusetts Historical Society The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Related Age of Enlightenment American Enlightenment American Philosophical Society American Revolution patriots Member, Virginia Committee of Correspondence Committee of the States Founding Fathers of the United States Franco - American alliance Jefferson and education Religious views Jefferson and slavery Jefferson and the Library of Congress Jefferson disk Jefferson Pier Pet mockingbird National Gazette Residence Act Compromise of 1790 Sally Hemings Jefferson -- Hemings controversy Betty Hemings Separation of church and state Swivel chair The American Museum magazine Virginia dynasty Elections United States Presidential election 1796 1800 1804 Legacy Bibliography Jefferson Memorial Mount Rushmore Birthday Thomas Jefferson Building Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression Jefferson Lecture Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Thomas Jefferson Star for Foreign Service Jefferson Lab Monticello Association Jefferson City, Missouri Jefferson College Thomas Jefferson School of Law Thomas Jefferson University Washington and Jefferson National Forests Other placenames Currency depictions Jefferson nickel Two - dollar bill Louisiana Purchase Exposition dollar U.S. postage stamps Popular culture Ben and Me ( 1953 short ) 1776 ( 1969 musical 1972 film ) Jefferson in Paris ( 1995 film ) Thomas Jefferson ( 1997 film ) Liberty ! ( 1997 documentary series ) Liberty 's Kids ( 2002 animated series ) John Adams ( 2008 miniseries ) Jefferson 's Garden ( 2015 play ) Hamilton ( 2015 musical ) Jefferson -- Eppes Trophy Wine bottles controversy Family Peter Jefferson ( father ) Jane Randolph Jefferson ( mother ) Lucy Jefferson Lewis ( sister ) Randolph Jefferson ( brother ) Isham Randolph ( grandfather ) William Randolph ( great - grandfather ) Martha Jefferson ( wife ) Martha Jefferson Randolph ( daughter ) Mary Jefferson Eppes ( daughter ) Harriet Hemings ( daughter ) Madison Hemings ( son ) Eston Hemings ( son ) Thomas J. Randolph ( grandson ) Francis Eppes ( grandson ) George W. Randolph ( grandson ) John Wayles Jefferson ( grandson ) Thomas Mann Randolph Jr. ( son - in - law ) John Wayles Eppes ( son - in - law ) John Wayles ( father - in - law ) Dabney Carr ( brother - in - law ) Dabney Carr ( nephew ) ← John Adams James Madison → Category James Madison 4th President of the United States ( 1809 -- 1817 ) 5th U.S. Secretary of State ( 1801 -- 1809 ) United States House of Representatives ( 1789 -- 1797 ) Congress of the Confederation ( 1781 -- 1783 ) Virginia House of Delegates ( 1776 -- 1779, 1784 -- 1786 ) `` Father of the Constitution '' Co-wrote, 1776 Virginia Constitution 1786 Annapolis Convention 1787 Constitutional Convention Virginia Plan Constitution of the United States Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787 The Federalist Papers written by Madison No. 10 No. 51 Virginia Ratifying Convention United States Bill of Rights 27th amendment Constitution drafting and ratification timeline Founding Fathers Presidency First inauguration Second inauguration Tecumseh 's War Battle of Tippecanoe War of 1812 origins Burning of Washington The Octagon House Treaty of Ghent Seven Buildings residence results Second Barbary War Era of Good Feelings Second Bank of the United States State of the Union Address ( 1810 1814 1815 1816 ) Cabinet Federal judiciary appointments Other noted accomplisments Co-founder, American Whig Society Supervised the Louisiana Purchase Anti-Administration party Residence Act Compromise of 1790 Democratic - Republican Party First Party System republicanism Library of Congress Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions Report of 1800 Other writings The Papers of James Madison Life Early life and career Belle Grove Plantation, birthplace Montpelier Elections U.S. House of Representatives election, 1789 1790 1792 1794 U.S. presidential election, 1808 1812 Legacy and popular culture James Madison Memorial Building James Madison University James Madison College Madison, Wisconsin Madison Square Madison River Madison Street U.S. postage stamps James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation James Madison Freedom of Information Award James Madison Award James Madison Institute A More Perfect Union ( 1989 film ) Liberty 's Kids ( 2002 miniseries ) Hamilton ( 2015 musical ) Related Age of Enlightenment American Enlightenment Marbury v. Madison National Gazette Paul Jennings Madisonian Model American Philosophical Society The American Museum magazine Virginia dynasty Family Dolley Madison ( wife ) John Payne Todd ( stepson ) James Madison, Sr. ( father ) Nelly Conway Madison ( mother ) William Madison ( brother ) Ambrose Madison ( paternal grandfather ) James Madison ( cousin ) George Madison ( paternal second - cousin ) Thomas Madison ( paternal second - cousin ) John Madison ( great - grandfather ) Lucy Washington ( sister - in - law ) ← Thomas Jefferson James Monroe → Category John Adams 2nd President of the United States, 1797 -- 1801 1st Vice President of the United States, 1789 -- 1797 U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, 1785 -- 1788 U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands, 1782 -- 1788 Delegate, Second Continental Congress, 1775 -- 1778 Delegate, First Continental Congress, 1774 Founding of the United States Braintree Instructions ( 1765 ) Boston Massacre defense Continental Association Novanglus ; A History of the Dispute with America, From Its Origin in 1754 to the Present Time ( 1775 ) Thoughts on Government ( 1776 ) Declaration of Independence May 15 preamble Committee of Five Model Treaty Treaty of Amity and Commerce Treaty of Alliance Board of War Chairman of the Marine Committee, 1775 - 1779 Continental Navy Staten Island Peace Conference Conference House Constitution of Massachusetts ( 1780 ) Treaty of Paris, 1783 Presidency Inauguration Quasi War with France XYZ Affair Commerce Protection Act United States Marine Corps Convention of 1800 Alien and Sedition Acts Naturalization Act of 1798 Navy Department Library Treaty of Tellico Treaty of Tripoli Midnight Judges Act Marbury v. Madison State of the Union Address ( 1797 1798 1799 1800 ) Cabinet Federal judiciary appointments Other writings Massachusetts Historical Society holdings Adams Papers Editorial Project Life and homes Early life and education Adams National Historical Park John Adams Birthplace Family home and John Quincy Adams birthplace Peacefield Presidential Library Massachusetts Hall, Harvard University Presidents House, Philadelphia Co-founder and second president, American Academy of Arts and Sciences United First Parish Church and gravesite Elections United States presidential election 1788 -- 1789 1792 1796 1800 Legacy Adams House at Harvard University John Adams Building U.S. Postage stamps Adams Memorial Popular culture Profiles in Courage ( 1964 series ) American Primitive ( 1969 play ) 1776 ( 1969 musical 1972 film ) The Adams Chronicles ( 1976 miniseries ) Liberty ! ( 1997 documentary series ) Liberty 's Kids ( 2002 animated series ) John Adams ( 2001 book 2008 miniseries ) Sons of Liberty ( 2015 miniseries ) Related `` Adams and Liberty '' campaign song Adams ' personal library American Enlightenment Congress Hall Federalist Party Federalist Era First Party System republicanism American Philosophical Society Gazette of the United States The American Museum American Revolution patriots Family Abigail Adams wife Quincy family Abigail Adams Smith ( daughter ) John Quincy Adams son presidency Charles Adams ( son ) Thomas Boylston Adams ( son ) George W. Adams ( grandson ) Charles Adams Sr. ( grandson ) John Adams II ( grandson ) John Q. Adams ( great - grandson ) Henry Adams ( great - grandson ) Brooks Adams ( great - grandson ) John Adams Sr. ( father ) Susanna Boylston ( mother ) Elihu Adams ( brother ) Samuel Adams ( second cousin ) Louisa Adams daughter - in - law First Lady ← George Washington Thomas Jefferson → Category Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=First_Party_System&oldid=843198204 '' Categories : Political history of the United States History of the United States ( 1789 -- 1849 ) Hidden categories : All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from September 2013 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch 日本 語 Edit links This page was last edited on 27 May 2018, at 15 : 24. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: when did the first american party system begin
Answer: 1792