Question

What issue led directly to the breakdown of national political parties?

Answer 1

If you are talking about the development of political parties, then the issue that led it to them was “the struggle over ratification of the federal Constitution of 1787” (loc.gov).
Federalists, such as Alexander Hamilton, wanted a strong, central government and the Anti-Federalists, like Thomas Jefferson, “advocated states’ rights instead of centralized power”. (Library of Congress)

Answer 2

Answer:

The French Revolution led to the breakdown of national political parties.

Explanation:

American bipartisanship was born in the first years of independent life of the American nation under the influence of the events associated with the French Revolution. The international crisis caused by the events in Europe caught the United States between the two main fighting nations: France and Great Britain. The young and still vulnerable American republic was threatened by a conflict that it was not responsible for and could not control.

In this context, the struggle between two political groups led to the development of the first American political parties: the Federalist Party and the Republican Party. The federalists were led by Alexander Hamilton and identified with the interests of the most urban and commercial region of the country, the northeast. These proposed the development of the United States as a manufacturing and commercial country, so they defended the creation of a national bank, the payment of the national debt and the collection of tariffs on imported products. At the international level, the federalists viewed with suspicion the events of the French Revolution and did not hide their sympathies for Britain. The Republicans were led by Thomas Jefferson and represented the interests of the slave and agrarian south. These favored the development of an agricultural economy of smallholders and opposed tariffs and the creation of a national bank because they believed that they would affect the interests of ordinary citizens. Internationally, Jefferson and his followers sympathized with revolutionary France and manifested a clearly anti-British attitude.