The First American Party System: A Documentary Timeline of Important Events (1787-1800)
Guiding Questions
- What constitutes a legitimate opposition in a democracy? What is a political
party in a democracy?
- What differences in philosophy led to the development of the Federalist
and Democratic-Republican parties?
- What events and issues were important in causing the differences in opinion?
- What were the key positions of the parties?
- What are the essential elements of an organized political party?
Learning Objectives
After completing the lessons in this unit, students will be able to:
- Cite critical factors leading to the development of the Federalists and
Democratic-Republicans.
- Summarize the key positions of the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans
and the reasoning behind those positions.
To achieve a better understanding of the issues that divided the Federalist and
Democratic-Republican parties, students may need to review some events contemporaneous
to the development of the first party system in the United States. The handout
"Timeline of Events Related to the Development of the U.S. Party System," (see Preparing
to Teach This Curriculum Unit for download instructions), provides a list
of events from 1787 to 1801.
How the handout will be used will differ from class to class, depending largely
on the background students bring to the lesson and the available time. Though
not comprehensive, it attempts to provide the highlights in a brief form. It
offers links to short secondary accounts and primary documents and a small selection
of quotes from some of each. Several classroom options are available. The timeline
can be given to students as a handout to use for reference. The class can review
the entire timeline or relevant portions of it without reference to the links.
Student groups or individuals can be assigned primary documents and asked to
select one or two especially pertinent excerpts. (If desired, students can use
the Written
Document Analysis Worksheet, on the EDSITEment-reviewed website Digital
Classroom, as an aid to their analysis.) Student groups or individuals can
be assigned one of the five sections of the timeline to study in order to share
with the class the significant events from those years. The teacher can use
the timeline as the basis for a lecture or a handout custom-made for the needs
of the class. Students can use the timeline as the basis for their own timeline(s)
of the events they consider most significant.
However you choose to use the handout, the goal is to provide the conditions
for a discussion of the following:
- What were the critical domestic events/issues that divided Federalists and
Democratic-Republicans?
- What were the critical events/issues in foreign affairs that divided Federalists
and Democratic-Republicans?
- In what ways were key figures connected to the domestic and foreign events
that divided Federalists and Democratic-Republicans?
- What other events or circumstances, if any, should have been included in
the timeline?
Assessment
Students who have completed this lesson or who have sufficient prior knowledge
should be able to respond effectively to the bulleted discussion points above
orally or in writing. You might consider using a jigsaw strategy as a way of having
the class examine each of the questions in depth. Divide the class into three
groups and assign one of the first three questions to each of the groups. Once
the students have completed their examination of the timeline and related documents,
have each group report their conclusions back to the entire class. When the class
has completed this exercise, move on to the fourth question and ask the students
to decide what additional events or circumstances were critical to the formation
of these first parties.
Selected EDSITEment Websites
Standards Alignment
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