For the new country of America, the early 1800s were a time of political and economic uncertainty. They saw the birth of two political parties, the Federalists led by Alexander Hamilton and the Democratic-Republicans led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. As a new nation still uncertain of its ability to govern and provide for its own needs, political parties were a terrifying idea. The parties were talking about disagreement, which was talking about dysfunction and possible implosion and failure. America was still solidifying itself as an independent nation and with splinter political parties and an economy stuck in the colonial phase, lots of raw materials and imports with little actual manufacturing of goods, there was a real chance that Great Britain could reconquer its colonies. at the turn of the 19th century. Although Britain had nothing directly to do with the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans, both parties lived in fear that the other would bring about the end of the young nation, either intentionally or inadvertently. Perhaps the other side would make bad economic or diplomatic decisions and have them reabsorbed by the British Empire. This did not improve relations between the two parties, which did not view the other as a legitimate contender for political power. The French Revolution fueled