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Chapter Summary: Great distinction to be made between parties-Parties which are to each other as rival nations-Parties properly so called-Difference between great and small parties-Epochs which produce them-Their characteristics-America has had great parties-They are extinct-Federalists-Republicans-Defeat of the Federalists-Difficulty of creating parties in the United States-What is done with this intention-Aristocratic or democratic character to be met with in all parties-Struggle of General Jackson against the Bank.
A great distinction must be made between parties. Some countries are so large that the different populations which inhabit them have contradictory interests, although they are the subjects of the same Government, and they may thence be in a perpetual state of opposition. In this case the different fractions of the people may more properly be considered as distinct nations than as mere parties; and if a civil war breaks out, the struggle is carried on by rival peoples rather than by factions in the State.