The Federalists and the Republicans both had very strong views of how the future of America should look like.
The Federalists and the Republicans both had very strong views of how the future of America should look like. These two opposing views were the complete opposite of each other as well. The election of 1796 was between John Adams, who represented the Federalist party, and Thomas Jefferson, who represented the republican party.
These two parties were at the far ends of the political spectrum. The federalists believed in a strong national government, one that would have sovereign control over the entire country and whose laws and power were the deciding factor over everything. The reason for this belief was because they thought that in a time of an expanding and growing country they needed the smartest and most powerful people in their ranks to ensure the correct direction of the growing country. They also used Alexander Hamiltons philosophy of having the government backed by the support of the wealthy and rich to fuel its power. This view can be best summed up in this way, "The country needed a government composed of the best, the brightest and the wealthiest men in American society." While the Federalists wanted a strong all-powerful government, the Republicans wanted the least amount of government governing a nation as possible. Thomas Jefferson, the leader of this party believed in "states rights" where the individual states would govern themselves with the least amount of influence from a national power.