The Federalist Party Vs. The United States - 904 Words

By 1800, the Federalist Party was divided, clearing the way to the presidency for the Democratic Republicans. Federalists like Washington and Adams wanted the federal government to have most of the power in the United States. The non-Federalists, Jefferson and Madison, during that time wanted a small federal government with very little power. They were very much concerned with state rights and individual freedom for the people. The political shift from Federalists, Washington and Adams, to Democratic-Republicans, Jefferson and Madison, resulted in non-Federalists coming to power and a shifting of government focus, the repealing of policies such as the Alien and Sedition Acts and the Judiciary Act of 1808, and westward expansion.†¦show more content†¦Jefferson, as a non- Federalist, believed that Hamilton’s national bank was unconstitutional and decided to abandon that policy, trim the federalist budget, and cut taxes. Jefferson, as a Democratic-Republican, did not lik e or trust the government due to its limit on the freedom of the individuals, but he acknowledged the necessity. Jefferson believed in a democracy where the people and the states had most of the power, which was a great step away from the policies the federalists had been putting in place. In order to fulfill the non -federalist’s wishes to return power to the state, it meant relinquishing powers of the central government, and this began with repealing the alien and sedition acts put in place by the federalists. One of Adam’s major flaws in his presidency was the execution of the Alien and Sedition Acts, which allowed the government to compulsorily banish foreigners and jail newspaper editors for scandalous writing. The acts were political, aimed at abolishing new settlers support for Democratic- Republicans. The Sedition Act strictly regulated anti-government speech and was a clear violation of the First Amendment. When the Federalists came into power, they repealed the Alien and Sedition acts, and Jefferson led the opposition to them. Together with Madison, he drafted the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, which claimed that the Alien and Sedition Acts were unconstitutional. In addition, before the federalists had left