Federalists vs. Democrat-Republicans

The Federalists and the Democrat-Republicans are the country's two political parties. I just happen to know a lot about both of them. The beliefs of these parties are almost completely opposite, so that makes it a bit easier to explain. The Federalists are led by a guy named Alexander Hamilton, and the Democrat-Republicans are led by Thomas Jefferson. The Federalists believe in the following things: concentrating power in the federal government, a republic led by the well-educated elite, a loose interpretation of the Constitution, an economy based on shipping and manufacturing, and the payment of national and state debts. The Federalists on the other hand believe in these things: sharing power with the state and local governments, a democracy of virtuous farmers and tradespeople, a strict interpretation of the constitution, an economy based on farming, the payment of only the national debt and not the state debt. The Federalists’ supporters are the merchants, manufacturers, landowners, investors, lawyers, and clergy. The supporters of the Democrat-Republicans are the so called “plain people,” such as farmers and tradespeople. Oh yeah, and the Federalists believe that the National bank is constitutional while the Democrat-Republicans believe just the opposite.

Personally, I like the Democrat-Republicans because they look out for people like me. I am neither rich nor well educated. The only thing that I don’t like about the Democrat-Republicans is their very strict interpretation of the Constitution. The Federalists are completely correct in their belief that the Constitution is to be taken in many different ways according to the situation at hand. The only reason that I really like the Democrat-Republicans better is because they want to share governmental power with the state and local governments, and they also don’t want any one absolute ruler.

Caleb Hilley