Political Ideology: The First Division In The United States

Simple suspicion and a clash of political ideology led to the first division within a united party. This party was originally united under one common cause- the freedom of a new and growing nation. However, as the nation began to spread its wings, conflicts arose and the two parties separated from one. This split was inevitable because of the contradicting ideologies each founding "brother" fought to uphold. Each had a different idea, each had a different vision, and each sought to make his vision a reality. Although the seeds of discontent were sown early on, they began to sprout during the process of the ratification of the constitution. The seeds began to grow as issue after issue came and fertilized the growing plant of division. Eventually,
The Sedition Act provided heavy fines and imprisonment for anyone convicted of writing, publishing or speaking anything of a false nature against the government or any of its officers. The Federalists intended for the laws to be weapons to defeat the Democratic Republicans. However, their plan backfired. The Democratic Republicans launched a campaign that attacked the laws, claiming they were infringements of every man 's rights. Madison and Jefferson then authored the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, which were, documents stating that the Constitution was nothing more than a pact between the sovereign states and it was aimed to persuade the states to use their powers and nullify the unconstitutional laws. Eventually, the Alien and Sedition Acts were overthrown but the passing of these Acts was a huge stain on the Federalists ' record. They were seen as monarchists infringing on the rights of man. The Alien and Sedition Acts became a "win" for the Democratic Republicans because their slew of attacks persuaded men to join and persuaded the people to vote for Jefferson in the 1800