Editing Federalist Party (section)

===Origins (1789–92)===
{{Further|First Party System}}[[File:Political Parties Derivation in the United States.svg|thumb|400px|Political parties derivation. Dotted line means unofficially.|center]]

Upon taking office in 1789, President Washington nominated his wartime chief of staff [[Alexander Hamilton]] to the new office of [[United States Secretary of the Treasury|Secretary of the Treasury]]. Hamilton wanted a strong national government with financial credibility, and he proposed the ambitious [[Hamiltonian economic program]] that involved the assumption of the state debts incurred during the American Revolution. This created a national debt and the means to pay it off, and it set up a national bank along with tariffs, with James Madison playing major roles in the program. Parties were considered to be divisive and harmful to republicanism,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hamilton |first1=Alexander |title=The federalist papers |date=2020 |publisher=Open Road Integrated Media |location=New York, NY |isbn=9781504060998 |page=49}}</ref> and no similar parties existed anywhere in the world.<ref name="Chambers, 1963">Chambers, William Nisbet (1963). ''Political Parties in a New Nation''.</ref>

By 1789, Hamilton started building a nationwide coalition (a "Pro-Administration" faction), realizing the need for vocal political support in the states. He formed connections with like-minded nationalists and used his network of treasury agents to link together friends of the government, especially merchants and bankers, in the new nation's dozen major cities. His attempts to manage politics in the national capital to get his plans through Congress brought strong responses across the country. In the process, what began as a capital faction soon assumed status as a national faction and then as the new Federalist Party.<ref>Chambers, William Nisbet (1963). ''Parties in a New Nation''. pp. 39–40.</ref> The Federalist Party supported Hamilton's vision of a strong centralized government and agreed with his proposals for a national bank and heavy government subsidies. In foreign affairs, they supported [[Proclamation of Neutrality|neutrality]] in the [[French Revolutionary Wars|war between France and Great Britain]].<ref>Miller, John C. (1960). ''The Federalist Era 1789–1801''. pp 210–228.</ref>

[[File:Alexander Hamilton portrait by John Trumbull 1806.jpg|thumb|A portrait of [[Alexander Hamilton]] by [[John Trumbull]], 1806]]

Hamilton proposed to fund the national and state debts, and Madison and [[John J. Beckley]] began organizing a party to oppose it. This "[[Anti-Administration party|Anti-Administration]]" faction became what is now called the [[Democratic-Republican Party]], led by Madison and Thomas Jefferson.<ref>Miller, John C. (1960). ''The Federalist Era 1789–1801''. pp 84–98.</ref> This party attracted many Anti-Federalists who were wary of a centralized government.