Party Lines: The Rise of Federalists and Democratic-Republicans

Objectives

• Students will analyze how political parties emerged in the Early Republic, comparing the beliefs of Federalists and Democratic-Republicans and evaluating how their debates shaped the young nation.
• Students will debate and role-play political differences.
• Students will research historical political parties.
• Students will connect history to real-world politics.

Student Resources:

• Early Republic Interactive Timeline
• Party Profile Handout
• The Rise of America’s First Political Parties Essay

Teacher Resources:

• “Strong Federal Government” and “State Powers” labels for sides of the classroom
• Cards or images to represent events on the timeline
• BRI Resources for research or teacher background knowledge:
  • Political Parties Essay 
  • Political Parties Research Activity
  • The History of Political Parties in the United States

Facilitation Notes

• This lesson plan utilizes the timeline as well as other resources to build student knowledge about the development of political parties in the early republic.