<P> The First Party System is a model of American politics used in history and political science to periodize the political party system that existed in the United States between roughly 1792 and 1824 . It featured two national parties competing for control of the presidency, Congress, and the states: the Federalist Party, created largely by Alexander Hamilton, and the rival Jeffersonian Democratic - Republican Party, formed by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, usually called at the time the "Republican Party ." The Federalists were dominant until 1800, while the Republicans were dominant after 1800 . </P> <P> In an analysis of the contemporary party system, Jefferson wrote on February 12, 1798: </P>

The initial parties of the two party system were