The United States was officially declared independent by the 2nd Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. This independence became a settled fact after the signing of the Treaty of Paris (1783) by the United Kingdom and the United States. However, our current governmental system was not yet in place during either of these times.
For the first 13 years of the United States of America, the government was under the Articles of Confederacy. It created an incredibly weak central government, reserving most powers to the 13 states that were a part of it. The national government had no ability to raise funds directly, and most important matters could be vetoed by a single state. To say it didn't really work is an understatement.
The situation got bad enough that in 1787 the states came together in Philadelphia to write a new constitution. Originally planning on amending the existing Articles, the convention instead wrote a completely new document our current Constitution of the United States. Much better than the Articles, it established a framework for the Federal government that for the most part has stayed stable for over 200 years. Even so, it was a flawed document built around compromise between the more merchant based states of the north, where slavery was starting to erode, and the agricultural states of the south, where slavery was most certainly not going away. The infamous 3/5 compromise allowed southern states to count slaves as 3/5 of a person for purposes of apportionment of House of Representative seats was the most notable. It was the price that had to be paid to get the southern states to agree to the new Constitution, but one that ultimately would lead to the great cataclysm of the Civil War.
Almost immediately after the Constitution was signed and submitted to the states it became a divisive issue. On one side were the Anti-Federalists such as Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry, who viewed the document as overreach and gave too much control to a central government. Some were adamant opponents unwilling to even consider ratifying the constitution. Others, however, were merely concerned with a lack of guarantees for basic rights. Some of this latter group would be reluctantly assuaged by promises of a Bill of Rights to be added upon ratification of the Constitution and establishment of the new Congress.
On the other side were the group called Federalists. The most prominent members of this group were John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison. In the runup to the ratification efforts in New York (and other states), Hamilton and Madison, along with John Jay, wrote The Federalist Papers, several essays designed to defend the Constitution from the arguments made by the Anti-Federalists. The works were a powerful explanation of how the government was intended to function, and certainly played a role in helping ease along the ratification. One by one from Delaware in late 1787 to Rhode Island in 1790, each state ratified the constitution. In 1789, George Washington took office as our first President, with John Adams as his Vice President. The same year, Congress took up its first session in New York City.
At first, there were no formal parties in the Federal government. The Anti-Federalists were less a party and more a loose coalition in opposition to the Constitution. Washington's cabinet included Alexander Hamilton as the Secretary of the Treasury and Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State. As time went on during Washington's tenure, it became clear that Jefferson (and Madison) had a different view of how the government should function than Hamilton (and Adams). Washington kept trying to keep his cabinet from falling into divisive squabbling, but it was too much. Issues about the role of the federal government in regards to direct taxation, to dealing with debt and other financial structures, and its relationship with the states pulled the two camps apart. In addition, the French Revolution was causing a divide between strong supporters of France and those who leaned to keeping relations stable with the United Kingdom.
Despite the growing rift, Washington was again elected unanimously to a second term in 1792. Unable to do anything about the growing divide, Washington could only watch as Jefferson and his supporters formed the Democratic-Republican party. During the next four years Jefferson, Madison, and others hit back at Alexander Hamilton and John Adams and the rest of the Federalists. The new party was built on the idea of limited government, and the protection of property rights (including slaves). It ostensibly favored the common white man, and while not universal was more likely to support extending suffrage to all white men, regardless of income or property. While not necessarily opposed to internal improvements, they considered them the responsibility of the states, and not the Federal Government. They generally viewed France favorably, and abhorred tariffs and the British. As such, the party saw strong support from rural citizens, tradesmen and artisans, and much of the plantation owners in the South.
On the other side, the Federalists believed in a stronger central government. They were the main proponents of the First Bank of the United States, and believed in a strong financial backing by the government in order to strengthen commerce. They generally favored good relations with the British, and eyed the French revolution warily. For the most part they were skeptical of extending voting rights to those without property and considered universal suffrage the path to mob rule. They found their strongest support amongst merchants and the wealthy along the coasts, including several prominent plantation owners in the coastal south. While not actively anti-slavery, northern Federalists were less likely to support the institution, and welcomed the gradual abolition that was beginning to take place in their states.
Leading up to the 1796 election, Washington stunned the country by announcing he would not seek a third term. Setting a precedent that would only be violated once (by FDR), Washington was ready to go into retirement and leave the cat herding to others. The Federalists put John Adams up for the office, while Jefferson was chosen as the candidate for the Democratic Republicans. In the first contested Presidential election, Adams barely beat Jefferson 71-68 in the Electoral College. Due to the way the constitution was set up at the time, Jefferson as the runner-up became the Vice President.
While friends before the election and after they both retired from public office, Adams and Jefferson grew apart during this time. Jefferson rarely did much as Vice President, all the while actively working for the 1800 campaign. Meanwhile Adams endured a miserable tenure as President, the lowest point being his signing of the Alien and Sedition acts, While he walked a narrow path keeping us out of a full blown war with France and the United Kingdom, he grew increasingly unpopular. This was in part due to the ugly campaigning that the Jeffersonian press was engaged in. All the while, Adams was unpopular with the ultra Federalists (such as Hamilton) in his own party, who were angry at his reluctance to enter a war with France. By the time the official campaign of 1800 started, an ugly situation got even uglier as both Federalists and Democratic Republicans got down into the mud. With insults, insinuations, and outright falsities the press supporting both candidates were shameless, as the campaign ground on to its conclusion.
In the end, Adams was just too unpopular, and finished a distant third in the ballot. However, the mess wasn't over, as Jefferson's running mate Aaron Burr received the same number of electoral college votes as Jefferson. As such, this sent the election to the House of Representatives, where Burr tried his hand to get enough states to vote for him over Jefferson. After weeks of debate and backroom deals, the House voted for Jefferson. In time the constitution would be amended so the Vice Presidential votes were counted separately from the Presidential votes, prohibiting a situation like this from happening.
After a tumultuous campaign, the transfer of power was thankfully peaceful and without incident. Jefferson took office without resorting to military power or the power of the mob, and Adams left without delay. Regardless of the relationship of the previous President and the new one, from then on to today each transfer has gone pretty smoothly. The campaigns, however, are a different story.
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