Did the Founding Fathers have an urban/rural divide in their politics like we see today?

by BullsLawDan

I know about the obvious North/South issues.

Did the Founding Fathers and their contemporaries have this urban/rural divide in beliefs like we do today? For example, did Franklin and S. Adams share "urban" political positions opposite those of the more country gentlemen like Jefferson and Washington?

juliacar

The two biggest cities (Bostona and New York) were mainly Federalist, and many countrymen were Democratic-Republicans because the D-Rd supported a lot of the values that farmers did (individualism, free markets, just an honest and simple life). Alexander Hamilton lived most of hist life in New York and was a Federalist, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were from Virginia and we're Democratic-Republicans. Of course, however, there are exceptions to that rule. George Washington was from Vigninia and although he never formally declared party allegiance, he was most definitely a Federalist. So yes, there were Urban/Rural divides, but there were a ton of factors that also played into part affiliation, just like there are today.