As early as 1796, the year of the first contested Presidential election, the battle lines were drawn. Although there were no formal political parties, there were loose coalitions of political thought, and as is the nature of any war, it came down to two sides: The Federalists, who preferred a more powerful national government, and the early beginnings of the Republicans, who favored a less powerful national government. Both parties recognized the need for a national government, but as always, the devil is in the details.
John Adams, the Federalist candidate, won the electorate by 3 votes. At that time the runner-up became the Vice President, and Thomas Jefferson represented the Republicans in that office. The Federalists retained control of Congress, and it didn’t take long for human nature to kick into gear. When given a little bit of power, most of us tend to use it to gain more power. We rationalize this abuse of power by claiming it is for the “greater good”. But just as we are witnessing the effects of political power run amok today, the first Americans also had to deal with this problem.
Feb 212010
