How did partisanship change after the American Revolutionary War?

Answer 1

Partisanship became extremely divergent and intense after the Revolutionary War. Prior to the war, there were no political parties in the colonies. During the war most people were united in thought mainly because all they had to think about was independence. But once independence was achieved and the colonists had to form a new national government the various colonies wanted to protect their own sectional interests so different people had different ideas on how that government should be. One major division of thought was whether the new federal government should be a strong one or a weak one. George Washington and John Adams believed in a strong central government so he was associated with "Federalists", although during Washington's presidency there was no Federalist party organization. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison believed in a weaker central government fearing that a strong federal government would take over the new states just as if there were a king all over again. The people who thought this way were known as Democratic- Republicans. The differences in political thought got so strong that John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, good friends during the Revolutionary War, thought each was a traitor to the cause of the Revolution. From then on though, there have always been at least two or more parties espousing their respective political beliefs.