The Federalist Party, along with the Democratic-Republican Party, was one of the first two political parties in the United States, and hence in the world. It arose in the executive and congressional branches of government during George Washington's first administration (1789–1793) and dominated the government until John Adams's failed bid for reelection to the presidency in 1800. After that, the party never again held the White House, although it continued as a force in Congress until after the War of 1812, and in some states until the 1820s. Its remaining members then joined both the Democratic and Whig parties.

Among leading Federalist figures such as John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and John Marshall, George Washington was the greatest. Although he disdained political parties and disclaimed party loyalty, his policies and inclinations were those of a Federalist. The party's leading men had headed the movement in 1787 for a new...