Early Development of Political Parties and Campaigning

It was the powerful political men of their time, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, who persuaded other political leaders to take sides on the issues of the day. Those who, like Jefferson, believed that any powers not specifically granted in the Constitution to the national government should remain under the control of the individual states, were labeled "Republicans." Those who supported Hamilton in his belief that the national government should take whatever steps were necessary for the common good were known as "Federalists."

How Party Politics and Campaigning Developed in Early America

George Washington's secretary of the treasury, Alexander Hamilton, supported the idea of a strong central government. The political party he formed by became known as the Federalist Party. Thomas Jefferson, Washington's secretary of state, believed that a strong central government would quickly become as oppressive to its citizens as the British government had been to American colonists.