1800 Sees First Peaceful Democratic Power Transfer Republican ideology of the late 18th century believed political parties were detrimental to society because they served vested interests. A nonpartisan elite would best serve the Republic but differences and party politics developed. Thomas Pain wondered if Washington was a traitor or an imposter. Federalist Adams won the 1796 election and the constitution indicated second place finisher Jefferson was Vice President. The two friends had different political beliefs and would not get along .A key differences between the two was diplomatic relations with England and France. Federalist loved Britan and idealized their government. They felt the U.S. was too weak to get involved with the intense war between the two countries. They also hated the French because of the anarchy that had resulted after the French Revolution. Jefferson's group had strong Republican beliefs and soon were called Republicans. They felt the Federalist wanted to turn the fledgling Republic into a Monarchy plus and they wanted to help our revolutionary war ally France. Federalist believed in a strong central government as demonstrated by the Washington's assumption of state revolutionary war debt even though some states had already paid their debt. They also formed the Bank of the U.S and generated revenue with a new tariff. Both helped the Northeast industry much more than Southern agriculture. Republicans lived in mostly rural states. They felt these actions endangered the Republic. They wanted a weak central government that did not need revenue and they didn't like the eastern bankers or their tariffs. They wanted states rights. Source See Conservatism vs. Progressivism

The 1800 Presidential Election was very rancorous because no rules of acceptable behavior existed and politics could be a messy business. The Aurora of Philadelphia became the mouthpiece of the Jeffersonian Republicans. They printed that Adams was a Monarchist who would appoint himself King. His son would be the hereditary successor. They said Adams had ordered a boatload of prostates delivered from England to meat his lustful passions. The Porcupine Gazette did the same for the Federalists. They printed Jefferson was an atheist and anarchists. Two mistakes hurt Adams. In 1798 he had created a standing army and enlarged the Navy. This hurt because traditional Republican orthodoxy preached that a standing army always led to a dictator. A citizen soldier was enough to meet emergencies. Second, the Alien and Sedition Acts hurt on two fronts. Immigrants didn't like the Alien Act which made them wait longer for citizenship and allowed them to be arrested and even deported. The Sedition Act made Republican written anti- government literature illegal. This would be the first of many such instances where the President's would abuse the Constitution in