Do you ever wonder how Democrats and Federalists compare? They should have similarities with their ideas on war, economy, and general government. They are different versions of the same political party, after all. 

Federalists and Democrats have alike beliefs on war.  Federalists liked being neutral when other countries went to war.  Democrats like to ensure the country is protected and avoid going to war. Democrats like to stay neutral because if they declare war for no particular reason it would be considered aggressive and frowned upon by other nations.  To maintain a sense of security the Democrats like having national defense and intelligence agencies in place. It seems like defending the nation is something they have in common. If they share this ideal let's look and see if this is true on their economic beliefs.

Although, they don’t appear comparable concerning the economy, their ideas actually coincide.  The Federalists emphasized industries, manufacturing, shipping, and trade.  This supports the Democrats ideals of favoring working families by providing jobs.  The Democrats go two steps further by wanting to provide health care and tax cuts, even though they need taxes to pay off the national debt.  Tax cuts goes against the Federalist idea of using tariffs to raise money to pay off debts for the Revolutionary War and to support the government. Maybe they will be more similar with their general government beliefs.

Both parties believe that central government should exist.  The Federalists favor a large central government that is ruled by the wealthy and privileged.  They also believed that there should be more power in the central government and less power for the states. The Democrats say everyone is equal it is founded on the conviction that wealth and privilege shouldn’t be an entitlement to rule and the belief that hard working families are the values that should guide us.  They also support the idea that the central government and the states should have equal power. Here is one case where they are very different in their beliefs.

     So, isn’t it ironic that the Federalists evolved into the current day Democrats?  They both support national defense and working families.  As more people became educated and “privileged” it made less sense to let the rich lead so the idea that every one is equal comes into play.  The values of the working family became more sensible that those of the rich. Unfortunately, not all of the Federalist values have left us, just look at our current national debt.