Anti-Administration Party

The Anti-Administration Party (1789-1792) was the informal faction led by Thomas Jefferson that opposed policies of then Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton in the first term (1789-1792) of President George Washington. This was not an organized political party but an unorganized faction. Most had been Anti-Federalists in 1788, meaning they opposed ratification of the Constitution of the United States. However, the situation was fluid, with men moving in and out.
Although contemporaries often referred to Hamilton's opponents as "Anti-Federalists", historians prefer not to use this term, because several leaders supported ratification, including Virginia Congressman James Madison. Madison joined with former Anti-Federalists to oppose Hamilton's financial plans in 1790. After Thomas Jefferson took leadership of the opposition to Hamilton in 1792, the faction became the "Democratic-Republican Party."
History
At the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and during the ratifying process in 1788 Madison was one of the two or three most prominent advocates of a strong national government. He wrote the Federalist Papers together with Hamilton. In 1789-1790, Madison was a leader in support of the new federal government. But in January 1790, Madison joined with Henry Tazewell and others to oppose Hamilton's First Report on Public Credit. The creation of this coalition marked the emergence of the Anti-Administration Party, which was almost exclusively southern at this time. Madison argued that repaying the debt rewarded speculators. His proposal to repay only the original bondholders was defeated by a vote of 36 to 13.
In the summer of 1791, Jefferson and Madison brought journalist Philip Freneau, fiery editor of an Antifederalist paper in New York City to Philadelphia to start an anti-administration newspaper, the National Gazette. Jefferson only had one State Department patronage job, which he gave it to Freneau.
In the second Congress (1791-1793), the Anti-Administration elements were more numerous and involved about 32 House members (out of 72). In 1791, Madison and Hamilton again clashed when the latter proposed the creation of a national bank. Southern planters were opposed, but urban merchants supported the idea. Madison said the Bank was unconstitutional, but Hamilton successfully argued that the Necessary and Proper Clause of the constitution allowed for it.
The French Revolutionary Wars, which began in April 1792, hardened the differences between the factions. The Pro-Administration Party supported the British side while the Anti-Administration Party supported the French side. Jefferson joined the party in 1792, and it contested the election that year under the name "Republican." Politics now became more stable, with well-defined parties (Hamilton's Federalist Party and Jefferson's Republican party), thereby creating the First Party System which lasted two decades.

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