The Formation of Political Factions in American Politics

The Formation of Political Factions in American Politics
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The Formation of Political Factions in American Politics
Washington’s Farewell Address
As the unanimous choice to become the country’s first president, George Washington emerged to be a reliable leader who showed the way in which the new government should be modeled. According to Adkins (2008), Washington had decided that he would retire when his first term ended. Therefore, with James Madison’s help, he began to prepare an address to the nation that would sum up his administration’s achievements, the political challenges he saw ahead, as well as his vision for a greater nation. As informed by Adkins (2008), it is the cabinet members that persuaded him to serve a second term. However, in 1796, he made a public declaration that he would not serve a third term. In the process of preparing for the address, Madison’s earlier draft was revised by Washington with the help of Alexander Hamilton. In the address, Washington urged the people of America to unite for the sake of the common good. In addition, it was his fear that the country’s new constitution was under threat from political factionalism, geographical factionalism, and the influence as well interference of other nations on the nation’s domestic affairs (Ellis, 2015). From the farewell address, it was evident that Washington disliked political factions and feared that they could destroy the young nation (Maisel & Brewer, 2008). In fact, he warned the citizens of the nations against political parties (Finne, 2015). It is notable that Washington did not recognize the role the political factions would eventually come to play in the debates of public policy and resolution of public issues. Therefore, from the address, a major aspect that emerges is Washington’s opposition to political factions. Despite his fears, political factions came to characterize American politicians in the many years that followed.
Emergence of Federalists and Anti-federalists
In the history of the nation, anti-federalists describe a group of individuals that were in opposition to a central government as well as the constitution’s ratification in 1788. It was their preference that power remains in local and state governments. On the other hand, Federalists advocated for a stronger central government as well as constitution ratification that would help in the management of tensions and debts that followed the American Revolution. While Anti-federalists were mainly dominated by smaller rural communities and farmers, the Federalists sought to fulfill the interests of big businesses and as such wanted a government that would oversee the regulation of the economy. Therefore, the emergence of these competing factions was as a result of each of them trying to protect their interests. As mentioned earlier, the anti-federalists were made up of smaller rural communities as well as farmers. As su...