The first two political parties, the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans, were created during the first American presidential administration, George Washington.
The Federalists, founded by Alexander Hamilton and supported mainly by the upper class, wanted a strong national power, rather than state power. They sought commercial and diplomatic harmony with Britain. Looking down on open elections, democracy and generalized suffrage, the Federalists also interpreted the Constitution loosely--Hamilton would say that if something was not clearly forbidden in the Constitution, it could be done.
The Democratic-Republicans, led by Thomas Jefferson, were mostly supported by the middle and lower classes. They emerged as opposition to the Federalists. They distrusted British monarchy and were pro-French instead, strongly influenced by the ideals of the French Revolution. They were for a more egalitarian and democratic government, frowning upon too much centralization power. The Democratic. Republicans also believed the interpretation of the Constitution should be strict, and that if it did not clearly allow something it should not be done.
As it was coming out of the American Revolution, the nation had significant debt. George Washington named Alexander Hamilton the Treasury Secretary. Hamilton suggested that to pay back the debt, they should assume the debt of the states and create a national bank. However, there was nothing explicit in the Constitution about the creation of a national bank. The Democratic-Republicans believed that creating a national bank would be an abuse of power by the federal government. After a lot of debate, Washington approved the creation of the first Bank of the United States, supported by the Federalists and against the Democratic-Republicans arguments.
