America Afire is the story of the most important election in the history of the Americas in the election of 1800. Former allies Jefferson and Adams, President and Vice President. Now they were Federalists and Republicans. Both fought to win the 4th presidential election under the Constitution. The Federalists were one of the political parties under the leadership of Alexander Hamilton. The federalist wanted a strong central government. The Republicans were the other political parties under the leadership of Thomas Jefferson. Republicans wanted a states' rights party that could override federal laws if they conflicted with state law. The Federalists were populated by businessmen and bankers who lived in major cities. The Republicans owned rural populations and believed that agriculture was the most productive way to have a strong economy by trading their products abroad. Federalists believed in strong leadership and a free constructionist interpretation of the Constitution. Republicans believed in a strong constructionist interpretation of the Constitution, meaning that if an issue was not directly written into the Constitution, then the federal government had no authority to regulate the issue. One difference between Federalists and Republicans was how they behaved. deal with Great Britain and France. The republicans wanted to build stronger ties with the French and supported the government that had taken power in France after the Revolution. While the Federalists believed that American foreign policy should favor British interests. Republicans believed in protecting what was best for the working classes such as merchants, farmers, and laborers. They believed that an agriculture… a paper medium… an urban growth and did not like or trust the common man, while Jefferson feared industrial and urban growth and idealized the common man. Great Britain in foreign policy and commercial interests at home, while republicans cheered for liberty in France and worried about monarchical federalism at home.” (Roark p.241). When the Federalists passed the Alien and Sedition Acts, the Republicans opposed them. They said they were “in conflict with the Bill of Rights, but do not have the votes to revoke it.” (Roark p.243) The key difference in separating Federalists and Republicans was the question of what direction America would take in the future. Towards a sort of elitist oligarchy controlled by the economic and financial interests of the North. Or towards a more democratic form in which the common man would play an important role.