America's Two-Party System Analysis

The major parties since early 1830s in the United States of America were the Democratic Party, organized by Andrew Jackson, and the Whig Party, assembled by Henry Clay from the National Republicans and in opposition to Andrew Jackson.

The two main political parties in the U.S. are the Democratic Party founded by Andrew Jackson and Republican Party founded by anti slavery activist in the northern states. Both of these parties have different views and are the only ones used in the American government since 1952. The electoral

This two-party political system started in the election of 1796 between Vice President John Adams (the Federalists) and the Republicans selected Thomas Jefferson. 1864 was the beginning of the two-party system

“In spite of the founders’ fears, two major-political factions – the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists were formed even before the Constitution was ratified.” Sidlow, 2015, P 143) Federalists wanted stronger national government and Anti-Federalist (Jefferson Republicans) wanted states’ rights and feared government could become too powerful. In the election of 1796 was the first time candidates from different political party systems held strongly opposed party principles and this time period defined political life as we know it. For the next twenty years the Jefferson Republicans dominated American Politics. In the 1820’s the Jefferson Republicans split into two groups, supporters of Andrews Jackson called their party the Democrats, and the other group called themselves the National Republican Party (Whig Party). During the 1840’s and 1850’s Democrats and Whigs competed for the White House and the two party system fully emerged

Soon after the war of 1812, the Federalist Party collapsed, leaving just one political party in the U.S. for over a decade. It was not until the election of 1824 that there was an emergence of a second party system. As stated previously one party led by Andrew Jackson was the Democrats. The Democratic Party developed when Andrew Jackson was elected president. The democrats believed in helping the common man. They stayed out of state affairs, favored the working class, and were tolerant of immigrants. The Whig party which consisted of mainly prosperous people formed in opposition to the Democratic Party. They believed that the federal government should be actively involved in the economy to stimulate growth. They were also in favor of tariffs to protect infant industries and internal improvements.

In 1789, the U.S. did not have a two-party system. The two-party system is rooted in the beginnings of the nation itself. The Framers of the Constitution were opposed to political parties. The ratification of the Constitution saw the birth of America's first two parties: the federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, and the Anti-Federalists, who followed Thomas Jefferson. The nation had only had George Washington, who was President without a party at that time. During George Washington’s two terms, a conflict developed between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, who were both Federalists men. Jefferson challenged Adams under the umbrella of the Democratic - Republican Party. In addition, the Democratic - Republican Party was the first real party that contained the formal beginnings of the present day two-party system. The word Democratic infers to “will of the people”, the word Republican infers to “rule of law” which is defense from possible oppression of the majority. In short, the American party system began as a two-party system. In this essay I will be discussing the why America needs a two-party system, why a multi-system may work for the nation and the conflicts, and how does this political system contributes to the nation and why a two-system is worth the struggle.

Since the 1852, the Democrats and the Republican have won every United States presidential election. They have also managed the United Congress since 1856. Nevertheless, the

Jacksonian Democracy led to the creation of the Modern American political culture that is still used in today’s time period. Andrew jackson was elected in 1828’s presidential election and won due to higher numbers of electoral votes. After his inauguration, he was elected as leader of the democratic party. He brought a lot of changes to the government. One of them was the two party system, in which one party holds the majority of legislation in the government and while the other holds the minority. The jacksonian Democrats failed in achieving individual liberty and as the guardian of the Constitution of the Unites States, But were somewhat adequate in defending the equality of economic opportunity and political democracy.

Prior to the War of 1812 the first parties to exist were the Federalists with conservative views favoring National Banks, tariffs and supported supplied power and the Democratic–Republican Party. These parties existed 1792-1824 and include the Federalist Party which was dominant in New England in 1800—business community. The Democratic-Republicans became dominant after 1800—mostly farmers and planters. After the War of 1812, the nation returned to a period of one-party government in national politics. “The Federalist Party decline brought about an illusion of National Political Unity. Congress was setup by President George Washington to be protector of the people—public policy. Rivalry followed and discourse grew over political differences. A divided occurred over the Financial Panic of 1819, the Depression—debt relief, banking, monetary policy, tariffs—and slavery and created a second party system that lasted from 1828-1854 (Ashworth, 1986).

First, the two-party system does not create an equal policy in society because it does not allow people to get far if they are not within either of the two parties. The idea of the winner-take-all electoral system is the hostile terrain for third parties because the odds are in favor of the bigger parties (Conray). The bigger parties over the years seem to have the upper hand within the government, and especially within the elections.

Democracy in the United States is based on the indirect representation of the people by elected officials who are usually chosen by direct vote. Almost from the beginning of the United States' history, however, two parties have shared the great majority of the elected positions from the local level to the presidency. However, up until the mid-1850's when the Republican party was formed, other parties such as the Whigs, Federalists, and Anti-Federalists did not last very long. The Democratic Party has existed for much longer, tracing its roots from Thomas Jefferson's Democratic Republican Party beginning around 1792 (Encarta). The two largest parties have changed, third parties have

The first two political parties that were formed in the United States were the federalist and the anti-federalist. The federalist consisted of the northern population, while the anti-federalist were in the south. One of the leaders of the federalist was Alexander Hamilton, with the power that he held and the power of the other federalist, they were able to gain control of the government for the first 10 years. The Democratic-Republic party took shape with Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, until 1828 when the name Republican was dropped from the name of the party which lead to the creation of the Democratic Party. Slavery was a very important issue for the United States government during those years, the Whig Party was then formed in order to stop the spreading of slavery into the western territories. The Whig Party came to an end as the Kansas-Nebraska bill of 1854 gave permission to the state to decide if they would be a free or slave state. The anti-slavery Whigs started to gather again in

Following the Compromise of 1850, the nation’s two major parties, the Whigs and Democrats, began to fracture along regional lines. In the North, the Whigs blended into a new party, the Republicans. In 1854,

The parties formed after the Constitution was adopted as the need to systematically search for and encourage popular support became apparent. The structure of a party allows a group of like-minded politicians to mold popular support in the favor of the candidate of their choice where alone they could only accomplish the creation of multiple less organized and therefore less politically potent factions. The nature of the political system already in place gave no value to coming in second or third in elections at any level of government, leading to the natural growth of two strong parties who battle for supremacy at every election (July 22). The winner takes all, and the opposition spends their time getting ready to try again as they wait for their next chance. Once the two parties, Democrat and Republican, were firmly settled in to the system they affected legislation to give themselves automatic ballot access and state funding, making election that much harder for other parties and thereby ensuring that it remained a two party system (July 22).

Since the administration of George Washington two political parties have dominated the United States political system, but they have not always been the same two parties. The first two parties were the Federalists and Anti-Federalists. Federalists were those who supported a strong federal government and the Anti-Federalists were those who did not. The leaders of the Federalists were Alexander Hamilton and John Adams. Both were from the Northeast where the Federalist line of thinking was strongest. Thomas Jefferson became the leader of the Anti-Federalists. These two groups really did not considered themselves parties. The founders feared parties because they thought of them as factions.