Encore: Political Parties | A Tale of Two Parties | 1

American History Tellers

Wondery

Society & Culture, Kids & Family, History, Education For Kids

4.7 • 18.3K Ratings

🗓️ 9 September 2020

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In the earliest days of the United States, there was no such thing as an organized political party. George Washington, elected twice to the presidency unanimously in the Electoral College, warned the new nation against political factions, writing that organized parties would become, “potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men subvert the power of the people.”

But immediately after Washington vacated the Presidency, factions did spring up and bitter personal rivalries began to shape the nation. The two first political parties–the Federalists and the Republicans–had very different views of what America should become, and were led by very different men: Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, prime members, you can listen to American History Tellers add free on Amazon music,
0:05.6	download the app today.
0:08.0	This is a special encore presentation of our series on political parties in the United
0:12.4	States.
0:13.3	As we head into November and face a contentious and consequential election, it seems
0:17.4	a ripe time to revisit how we got here in the first place.
0:20.6	It wasn't always Democrats and Republicans.
0:23.0	And if you'd like even more insight into our American political process, search for and
0:27.1	subscribe to another one of my podcasts, American Elections Wicked Game.
0:31.2	It chronicles every single presidential election from 1789 to 2020.
0:36.2	Both in this series and in that podcast, you'll find our current strife isn't so new,
0:40.9	and certainly not any worse than it has been.
0:43.2	Hopefully, that's a comfort.
0:47.7	Imagine it's July 4th, 1795.
0:59.7	You're a candle maker in Germantown, Pennsylvania.
1:03.1	It's a sultry summer day and you and your apprentice are attending the holiday festivities,
1:07.8	sponsored by the local Federalist Group.
1:10.3	The Federalists put these celebrations on every year, featuring speeches by local leaders,
1:15.4	singing along, dancing, fireworks, and of course plenty of food and beer.
1:20.4	You've heard this year that the Republicans plan to hold their own 4th of July event,
1:24.4	complete with a parade, but their celebration is taking place on the other side of town.
1:29.3	You've just finished listening to a speech by one of the Federalist men.
	...

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