America’s First Political Party

A short history of the Federalist coalition.

Alexander Hamilton and John Adams, leaders of the Federalist Party. — Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The United States of America is a relatively young nation. However, it has one of the oldest surviving government’s in the world. The United States Constitution was ratified on June 21, 1788. The document is well over 200 years old, making it one of the oldest active constitutions in the world.

While the U.S. Constitution makes no mention of political coalitions in its text, the founding fathers were forming various coalitions before the constitution was even written. The first successfully organized political coalition in the U.S. was formed in 1791. America’s first political party became known as the Federalist Party.

Federalist Ideology

The title page of the first collection of The Federalist (1788). — Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The Federalist Party consisted of individuals who were strong supporters of creating a strong central government. These men were also big supporters of the newly written U.S. Constitution. Prominent members among the early Federalist coalition were Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison. However, James Madison would eventually leave this coalition a few short years later to form the Democratic-Republican Party with…