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8 - The Whole and the Parties

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2021

Alin Fumurescu  and
Anna Marisa Schön
Alin Fumurescu
Affiliation:
University of Houston
Anna Marisa Schön
Affiliation:
University of Houston
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Summary

Chapter 8 treats the decades between 1790 and 1830, focusing on the formation of the first two party systems and the parties’ different views of the American people and the Union. Excerpts from Alexander Hamilton and Fisher Ames illustrate the Federalists’ support of strong central government and of a strong executive, while selections from Thomas Jefferson and John Taylor represent the Republicans’ advocacy for state and individual rights. In turn, letters and speeches from Martin Van Buren, Andrew Jackson, and Enos Throop offer insights into the formation of the Democratic Party and their populist, horizontal understanding of the people, while excerpts from the Daniel Webster’s Speeches on Foot’s Resolution represent the Whig’s classical republican view of government. Extending the traditional narrative of the two-party system(s), the chapter also includes excerpts from the party platforms of the Anti-Masonic Party and the Native American Party, also known as the Know Nothings.

Keywords

FederalistsJeffersonian RepublicansDemocratsWhigsAnti-Masonic PartyNative American Party
Type
Chapter
Information
Foundations of American Political Thought
Readings and Commentary
 , pp. 272 - 316
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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References

Suggested Readings

Hamilton, Alexander, “Report on the National Bank” [1790] in Syrett, H. C. (ed.), The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, Vol. VII: September 1790–January 1791 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1963), pp. 305–42.Google Scholar
Jefferson, Thomas, “Opinion on the Constitutionality of the Bill for Establishing a National Bank” [1791] in Ford, P. L. (ed.), The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Vol. VI (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1904), pp. 197–204.Google Scholar
Hamilton, Alexander, “Report on the Subject of Manufacturers” [1791] in Syrett, H. C. (ed.), The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, Vol. X: December 1791–January 1792 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1966), pp. 230–340.Google Scholar
Ames, Fisher, “Speech on Jay’s Treaty” (April 28, 1796), in Annals of the Congress of the United States (House of Representatives, 4th Congress, 1st Session), pp. 1239–64.Google Scholar
Marshall, John, McCulloch v. Maryland (17 U.S. 316; 1819).Google Scholar
Taylor, John, An Inquiry into the Principles and Policy of the Government of the United States (Fredericksburg: Green and Cady, 1814).Google Scholar
Taylor, John, Construction Construed and Constitutions Vindicated (Richmond: Shepherd and Pollard, 1820).Google Scholar
Crockett, Davy, “Speech on Electioneering,” in A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett (New York: Nafis & Cornish, 1845).Google Scholar
Lincoln, Abraham, “Letter to Joshua Speed (August 24, 1855), on the Know Nothing-Party,” in Nicolay, J. G. and Hay, J. (eds.), The Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln, Vol. II (New York: Francis D. Tandy, 1905), pp. 281–7.Google Scholar

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