The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1899-08-22
Political Parties in the United States
Tho Albany On y Argus says;


stitute leader suitable 10 the views
Of the dispensers of cfli o." ST.
Robert Peel for 80 many years the
great leader OF the Conservatives IN
England, declared that there was
nothing more iutolerable than the
tyranny of party and he had re-
markable experience, for 1t was his
misfortune 10 be twice convinced in
advance of his followers, first on
Catholic emancipation and then on
the abolition of the corn laws. He
became the living incarnation of the
political traitor and was gibbeted as
an example for all time. He was the
man who caught the Whig bathing
and ran away with the clothes, the
parliamentary middleman, who
'bamboozles one party and plumbers
the other" he was told that his mind
was 'one great appropriation clause"
that cunning is not caution, and
that hsbitual perfdy is not high
policy of State
For many years anterior to the
American Revolution the terms Wing
and Tory had been in use in English
politics; the term Wing designating
the party opposed to the royal pre-
rogstive, and who was generally in
favor of reform, while the Tory des-
Ignated the party which upheld the
pretogstive and adhered TO old in
stitutIons. So, in our colonial days,
the term Tory was applied to those
who were sdherents of the Crown,
and the term Wing to their oppOn'
en,s. la sll countries where the
laws are made by representatives
chosen by the people there must nee
essarily be parties. la the United
States after the achievement of iude
pendence the first political organlza-
ton was the Federslst party, Of
which Alexander Hamilton was the
fouader. The FederalIsts were ac
cused Of fsvoring aristocratlc gov.
ernment, aud being enemies to the
masses of the people. Then arose
the Democratic Republican party
founded by Thomas Jefferson, which
from its inception in 1852 to 1901,
Was the party Of opposition
President Washington, in his fare
we'll address to his countrymen IN
1896, recognized the truth that, with
in certain limits, parties in free
countries are useful checks upon the
Administration of the government,
sud serve to keep alive the spirit of
! berty,' but he depreCated the too
violent spirit of party, and though
he was nominally classed as a Fed
erslist, be showed his moderation
and impartiality by making Thomas
Jefferson, Democrat, Secretary of
State, in the same cabinet where
Alexander Hamilton, Federslist, was
Secretary of the Treasury. The sec
ond President of the United States,
John Adams, was a Jealous Federal
ist, and was the leader of the party
who favored Capitalization and ma
tional consolidation. In 1877 they
favored war with France, and IN l790
passed the alien and sedition laws,
which provided heavy fles and i'm
prisoument for any person who
should conspire to oppose the United
States government or laws, or who
should print or publish any false,
scandalous or malicious writings
against the Government, Congress
or the United States intended to
bring disrepute or hatred upon them
or to stir up sedition. These laws
we're regarded by the Democratic
Republican party of that day as un-
constitutional, and were denounced as
subversive Of the liberty of speech
and the press. But these odious acts
of Congress. passed by the Federallsts,
expired in 1900 and 1901.
In 1900, the Federalist candidates,
Adams and Pinckney, we're defeated
by Democrat candidates Jefferson and
Burr, for President and Vice Presi
dent, and the Federalist party never
regained power. Its uEpatriotic
course in the war of 1912, and the
odium excited by the Hartford con-
vention of 1Sl4-l5, destroyed it en-
tirely. After the war of 1872 the
Democratic Republican party had a
clear field of operations until the sec
ond election of Monroe in 1920, when
dissensions began to appear. Henry
Clay and his followers advocating
protective tariff, national aid to in
ternal improvements and q broader
construction Of the Constitution.
They were first known as National
Republicans, in contradistinction tC
the Democratic Republicans, wbc
have thenceforth been commonly
known by the shorter term of the
Democratic party. The so'called
National Republicans. after drawing
to themselves many of the opponents
of Andrew Jackson in 1884 were
called Wings. They elected William
H.Harrison and John Tyler, Preslden
and Vice. President, in 1910, and in
lS4S elected Taylor and Fillmore
but failed to elect Winfield Scott fol-
President in 1859, and then rapidly
dsintegrated, many of the Southern
Wings becoming Democrats, while
most of the Northern Wings coalesced
with the Free Sellers. In 1856 was
organized the present Republican
party, which has elected six Presi'
dents-Lincoln, Grant, Hayes, Gar
field, Harrison and Mckinley. i
was organized with opposition t
slavery as its tenet, and inssmuch 81
slavery has been abolished, it would
seem to have no reason for further
existence, except to antsgonize the
Democratic party and enjoy the Fed
eral Offices.
The Democratic ra;ty, founded OF
the principles of Thomas Jefferson
has had its defeats as we'll as its vic
tories, but it is the only party in tot
| United States of which it can be ssic
with truth that it has maintained q
1 e. n q n