The first American Political System existed during the period between 1792 and 1824. The system used two parties competing for control over the congress, the states, and the presidential position. The federalist party was created by Alexander Hamilton, and the Republican party was formed partly by Thomas Jefferson.
The advantages of the existing party system could be described as giving a large percentage of the population an ability to have a political voice in the government. While political parties have been historically looked down upon during the founding years of America, and ability to give many people representation has been positively received. A party representing particular laws and policies was therefore used to help a wide margin of the populace an ability to participate was, therefore, a suitable approach to organizing the government. Other than being a good representative mechanism, the first party system served to alleviate the tensions of the recent revolution. Furthermore, the division between the Federalists and the Republicans has allowed American society to become more organized and orderly in its affairs. Disputes over legislation and government positions were now determined by two-party voting exclusively.
This system, however, had some major disadvantages as well. One of the more evident and obvious problems is that, even with a big part of the population being able to vote, there were several restrictions in place to prevent certain groups from participating. Ostensibly, women and people of color, as well as those without possession of the land, were not able to participate. Another disadvantage of the system is that it created a point of division among the American people, fueling feelings of alienation and hostility within the country. “Geographically, the Federalists were strongest in New England… The Republicans won solid support in semi-subsistence areas such as the West” (Davidson, 2015). The voters for each party were largely divided by their territorial organization, making people with certain belief systems congregate in specific parts of the country.
References
Davidson, J. W. (2015). The U.S., a narrative history: Volume 1. To 1877. McGraw-Hill Education.