Changes

In the United States, similar disputes over the nature and power of leadership led to the eventual emergence of parties. The debate as to how much power the federal government should have relative to state rights became the core issue that led to the emergence of the two-party system in the United States. The Federalists Party, led by Alexander Hamilton, emerged as the first political party in the United States at around 1789, which championed the idea of strong federal government with power over the states and investment and development of manufacturing and trade. This included developing a central bank for the United States. The Democratic-Republican Party soon emerged as its opposition in 1792, although they were usually called the Republican Party (historians though use Democratic-Republican to distinguish from modern Republicans), with the party led by Thomas Jefferson. As the name suggests, their main ideas were Republicanism that opposed a strong, central federalists policy. Hamilton's financial support for a strong, central Bank of the United States was opposed by the party. Its support for state rights became perhaps the most well-known platform, which also became the main issue that eventually sparked the Civil War. The Federalists only lasted until about 1824, while the Democratic-Republican party dissolved in 1825. Both the main modern parties were influenced by the ideals by both these parties, although neither of them can claim descent from these two parties in a direct manner since members of these parties began to join other very different parties after their collapse.<ref>For more on the Federalists and Democratic-Republican, see: Payan, G. (2004). <i>The federalists and anti-federalists: how and why political parties were formed in young America</i>. New York: Rosen Pub. Group. </ref>

The Democratic-Republican Party soon emerged as its opposition in 1792, although they were usually called the Republican Party (historians though use Democratic-Republican to distinguish from modern Republicans), with the party led by Thomas Jefferson. As the name suggests, their main ideas were Republicanism that opposed a strong, central federalists policy. The party opposed Hamilton's financial support for a healthy, Central Bank of the United States. Its support for state rights became perhaps the most well-known platform, which also became the main issue that eventually sparked the Civil War. The Federalists only lasted until about 1824, while the Democratic-Republican party dissolved in 1825.  Both the main modern parties were influenced by the ideals by both these parties, although neither of them can claim descent from these two parties in a direct manner since members of these parties began to join other very different parties after their collapse.<ref>For more on the Federalists and Democratic-Republican, see: Payan, G. (2004). <i>The federalists and anti-federalists: how and why political parties were formed in young America</i>. New York: Rosen Pub. Group. </ref> The Federalists shaped much of US politics and political development in the 1790s. During this time, they began to try to reestablish relations with Great Britain and develop a strong robust fiscal banking policy. Their policies did help shape a stronger central government, that has lasted to this day through their legacy, and presidency than some other Revolutionaries had hoped for in interpreting the Constitution. They also were instrumental in the selection of John Marshal as head of the Supreme Court, that helped define the United States legal system to this day. The Federalists mostly collapsed after the early 1800s, with the election of 1800 being a critical turning point, mostly mainly because they were seen as too elitist and there were genuine fears they would make the United States more similar to a monarchy. This led to the Democratic-Republicans to dominate politics until the early 1820s.  During the first two decades of the 19th century, the United States became, arguably, less central in its approach to government, which led to divergence among states in governing and law. Perhaps the most obvious was the issue of slavery, but other laws also regarding taxes, building, and other issues were often very different from state to state. This has also led to a legacy today, as state laws can be quite different in the United States relative to most Western countries.<ref>For more on the fall of the Federalists and then rise and fall of the Democratic-Republicans, see: Larson, E. J. (2008). <i>A magnificent catastrophe: the tumultuous election of 1800, America’s first presidential campaign </i> (1st Free Press trade pbk. ed). New York: Free Press. </ref>