A brief pause for a small history lesson:

In his Farewell Address, George Washington left the nation with a small tidbit of advice: essentially, don’t let political parties—or factions—drive our government. If political parties become the focus of governance, Washington argued, it would only pit the parties against one another, and little reform would actually be achieved unless it happened at the expense of the other party.

Following the ultimate success of the American Revolution against Great Britain and amid the celebrations that took place, there was only one real goal for our Founding Fathers: establish a government. Now, establishing a new government is easier said than done. The first attempt, the Articles of Confederation, was a failure. It called for states’ rights but, in the same instant, lacked a central authority that could do basic governmental deeds like, declare war and build a military, or even tax. So, really, the government was nearly nonfunctional.

After that failure, James Madison took it upon himself to write an entirely new document: the Constitution-- and this is where the political parties come in.

The original Democrats and Republicans were the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. In other words, these were the first two political parties seen in American history. The Federalists, led largely by Alexander Hamilton, were essentially modern day liberals: they believed that power should rest in a large central government and that this government should take part greatly in economic matters. The Federalists—with the use of the Federalist Papers (more on those in a minute)—advocated for the ratification of the Constitution written by Madison by the states. On the other side were the Anti-Federalists, modern day conservatives, that advocated for states’ rights and individual liberties, along with a more laissez-faire version of economics. The Anti-Federalist’s largest proponent was Thomas Jefferson.

But amidst all of this, what does it have to do with today’s politics?

Well, let’s talk about the Federalist Papers. Initiated by, of course, Alexander Hamilton, the Federalist Papers were a series of essays anonymously published that argued for the ratification of the Constitution written primarily by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, along with John Jay. Of these, arguably the most famous is Federalist 10 by Madison, which appeals for the Constitution’s ratification because it calls for a Republican government (or a government where authority comes from the people, usually through elected officials). A Republican government, Madison claimed, was the wisest form of government as it was best equipped to control the potential violence and damage that is caused by factions—or dissenting organized groups within a large one in politics.

Whew. Deep breath.

So, what does all of this mean exactly? And why does it relate to today?

It could be said that today, in current politics, we are more split than ever before—rivaling that of politics during the actual Civil War. Politicians are engaging in exactly what George Washington warned about in 1796—letting political parties run government. In Federalist 10, while the detrimental effects of factions are discussed, the positives ones are too; factions—political parties—are not inherently bad and, for a democracy, they are actually good. Factions help to ensure that the majority group does not become tyrannical and so that, in simpler terms, the little guys don’t always lose.

That being said, our country is currently being run by our political parties. Any push for reform on either side is met with a block from the opposing party. The biggest motivator for reform is either the prospect of reelection or the idea of “getting one up” on the opposing party. Most of all, politicians do not listen to each other—9/10 times because of their party affiliation—and therefore, no compromise can occur. And right there is the real problem: the lack of compromise.

In a Republic, there needs to be a certain level of quid pro quo—you get some, I get some. Hamilton and Jefferson, sworn political enemies, recognized this. Hamilton and Jefferson were two men that stood for completely different ideals; it was between Jefferson’s agrarian life and Hamilton’s manufacturing world. On a spectrum, Hamilton was on one side, and Jefferson was on the other—so much so that they both created the first political parties against each other in America’s history.

But at the end of the day, what is necessary for our government to thrive is quid pro quo—compromise. And that is what current politicians must learn from our Founding Fathers. In order to get stuff done, in order to move forward, compromise must be reached.

At the famous so-called Dinner-Party Compromise, Hamilton’s liberal economic plan that called for the assumption of states debt was voted to be passed in Congress in exchange for the capital of the United States (which was then at the time in New York City) to the Potomac River, situated close to Jefferson’s home at Monticello—that place is now known as Washington D.C. In the end, Hamilton and Jefferson, in the face of all their differences, in the middle of all their hatred, they reached a compromise. Why? Because it was the best decision for the country itself.

But now, we are pitted against each other and, instead of trying to find a middle ground, we seek to destroy other party members. Ideological differences are expected, but how could there possible be room for growth when the goals of the people running government is to, essentially, decimate other members of the government? It’s not about finding the best candidate of them all any more—it’s about cutting another party out of office and, frankly, this was never the intention of our government.

With all the chaos and turmoil of this 2016 election, and with Memorial Day coming up this weekend, it’s important to remember what we were founded on and that, maybe, our Founding Fathers did some things right that our current politicians should take note on.

Until then, the turmoil will never cease.