Discussion: Party Politics in the 1790s
The 1790s was a decade of significant political conflict as the new nation witnessed the rise of political parties in response to domestic and international developments. In 1789, there were no official political parties.
By the end of the century, two political parties, the Federalists and Republicans, vied with one another for control of Congress and the presidency. In this discussion, you will explore the positions of one of these political parties.
REQUIRED READINGS
Read the following sources for this discussion:
History in the Making - Chapter 10
Alien and Sedition Acts
Kentucky Resolutions
INSTRUCTIONS
For this assignment, you will CHOOSE ONE of the political parties to write on: either the Federalists OR the Republicans. Choose whichever party interests you, or choose a party that you don't know much about.
Once you choose your party, you will assume the role of a member from that party - pretend that you are either a Federalist or Republican from the 1790s. There are three parts to this assignment:
1. You will write a minimum of three paragraphs discussing the political, economic, and diplomatic views of your political party (based on the content from the textbook).
Your political views will include your perspective on state and national government (how strong or weak should they be); your economic views will include your perspective on economic directions that the nations should take (or not take); your diplomatic views will include your perspective on France and England (which nation do you support? why?).
2. You will also write an additional paragraph on one of the primary source readings:
- If you are a Federalist, you will explain what the Alien and Sedition Acts are and give examples from the Acts that you think are necessary to support your position (ex: what parts of the Alien Acts are necessary for the survival of the United States?).
-If you are a Republican, you will explain what the Kentucky Resolutions are and give examples from the Resolutions that you think are necessary to support your position (ex: what role should states play when the national government oversteps its authority?).