Jonathan Carpenter
Mr. Cesare
AP Gov
27 August 2014
Republicans, Democrats, and their ideas
In the forefront of the political system in the US are the two major parties; the liberal Democrats and the conservative Republicans. While each party strives for peace and prosperity of the United States, they have many different views on topics that are always in people’s minds including; gun control, immigration, health care and many others. These parties have evolved through hundreds of years of competition and ideas from all over the world into the modern parties that we now have.
The evolution of these parties are very different from any normal evolution of organizations, The Democratic party was formed by presidents Thomas Jefferson, James
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The Anti-Federalist went through a series of name changes throughout the years until 1828 where Andrew Jackson was elected. Before his election however, they were also known as the Democratic - Republican Party and once became known as the Republican Party, until 1828 where they identified with a populist movement and became the Democrats. The Democrats, regarded as the oldest political part in the world have had 15 Presidents since Andrew Jackson with the Republicans having 18. Jefferson created what is called a “Jeffersonian Democracy” which promoted state’s rights, civil liberties, strict interpretation of the constitution, limited executive authority, and as little interference of business and commerce as possible. His system also favored farmers, common folk, and the working class over the educated …show more content…
A fairly new problem that has come up in the landmark Roe vs. Wade case was abortion with both parties take opposite sides in the argument. The Republicans believe that abortion is immoral and that the unborn fetus has a right to life and that if the mother doesn’t want the child they should put it up for adoption. The Democrats however, believe that if a mother wants an abortion they have a right to choose if they get one or not whether or not they can pay for it. Republicans say that their reason for being anti-abortion is that the 14th amendment also extends to unborn children, giving them a right to life. The Democrats say that the right of choice is important to the American people and that it extends to women to have the choice of whether or not to bear a child. Another important topic is drug legalization Republicans have always believed that drugs are bad and will not back down on Marijuana legalization where they are strongly anti-legalization believing that drugs ruin lives. The Democrats however, believe that, regarding marijuana, the largely Republican war on drugs has been a failure for wasting taxpayer money and ruining lives in prison. Both of them however believe that illegal drug trafficking should be punished with the worst possible punishment and, if necessary, death. Closely related to this subject is Crime, the Republicans
Then comes the issue of campaign finance the two parties have different thoughts on this issue. The Democrats think that something should be done to eliminate the influence of lobbyists and special interests in our political parties (“Democrats Unveil”). The Republicans want to fight this by adding a new constitutional amendment while republicans support this saying that it is supported by our right to free speech (“Democrats Unveil”). They are trying to change this policy because they both want to help cleanse the political system of corruption. But even though the two parties both disagree on both things they each have their own ways they want it done.
Democrats express that the values America supports must evolve over time, and therefore tend to support controversial issues such same-sex marriage and abortion. Republicans values tend to be religious in nature which means Republicans will most likely disapprove of abortions for any reason and disagree with same-sex marriage.
“The modern Democratic Party is the descendant of the Democratic-Republican Party, an early-nineteenth-century political organization led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Also known as the Jeffersonian Republican Party, the Democratic-Republican Party began as an antifederalist group, opposed to strong, centralized government. The party was officially established at a national nominating convention in 1832. It dropped the Republican portion of its name in 1840.” As stated in the free dictionary’s definition of the democratic party. The Democrat and Republican parties have differences as well as similarities such as their views on government decisions.
Views between the two major parties of government in the United States have many differences and few similarities. The Republican side of government tends to be more conservative and more for the people’s freedoms. They also support government intervention only when necessary. The Democratic side of government tends to be more liberal and support heavy government intervention. Views between abortion, gay marriage, and many other controversial topics differ greatly between the Democratic and Republican Party.
The American political system is made up of primarily two parties, Democrats and Republicans. These parties go against each-other for many political positions, such as presidency. Each supports and opposes different issues. The Democratic Party supports a bigger government and believes the government should guide the people. They are known as Liberals because typically they like change. The Republican Party supports a smaller government and believes the people should guide the government. They are known as Conservatives because they are in favor of the core laws of this country. Some people do not consider themselves Democratic or Republican. Not all members agree with the majority vote of their party. Each party has a majority
The United States began as a weak, newborn nation that grew into a large, self-supporting country with a governing body unique to this time period. As the government grew and the nation prospered, the rise of leaders and political figures came about and with this, conflicting principles and ideology spawned, thus creating the first of the political parties; the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. Although the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans ideology and stances on the power of the federal government, domestic economic policies and the group of constituents they represented differed vastly, members of both parties often compromised their own beliefs for the nation’s best interest as a whole.
In the United States of America, the political party system is pivotal to the function of our nation. The political party system in our society today is separated between the Democrats and the Republicans. Although political parties do possess uncertainties their advantages outweigh their drawbacks in America. The United States of America is made up of two basic political parties, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. A political party is a group of individuals who share similar interest and they work together with one another to construct and execute policies. The Democratic Party was established in 1828, by Andrew Jackson. The Democratic Party was created based on a belief in an unyielding government and an advocacy of social and
In the United States we are divided by the left and right side on the political spectrum; even further divided into political parties such as Republicans, on the right, and Democrats, on the left side. These two political parties show philosophical differences through their viewpoints on major topics such as the economy, separation of church and state, abortion, and gun control.
Republicans want to limit the number of social programs and encourage the individual states to be more active in their own social welfare. Democrats feel that more government is better, where the Republicans feel that the individual states should have more power. Democrats favor gun control legislation most of the time. Republicans do not seem as interested in that issue, and many Republicans can be viewed as pro gun advocates. Democrats favor affirmative action for minorities and women. Republicans favor helping the entrepreneur and tend to give tax breaks to big business. Democrats champion the cause of labor unions, while Republicans realizing that union votes are important, at the same time feel that labor unions have too much power and cost big business too much money. The next set of political differences about the issues of capital punishment and abortion rights are quite paradoxical. Democrats favor a woman’s right to choose, at the same time they are against the death penalty and want to rehabilitate prisoners. Republicans, many of them are pro-life as well as in favor of capital punishment and being tough on crime. Democrats want the government to be more involved in public education, and want more money dispersed for student loans. Republicans want the states to take the responsibility for educating their children and also want to provide vouchers as an alternative to public school. This issue is also tied to how Republicans are
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
The Democratic Party was formed in 1792. Its name was adopted in the 1830s during Jackson’s presidency. It is the “world’s oldest existing political party” (Democratic Party). The Northern and Southern Democrats had issues dealing with slavery, which caused them to split in 1860. According to the “Democratic Party”, the Southern Democrats wanted to protect “slavery in all the territories while many Northern Democrats resisted.” The party was also known as the "white man 's party" and demonized the Republican Party as being "Negro dominated," even though whites were in control” (Democratic Party).
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).
American history is filled with ups and downs. Starting out with only 13 colonies, America forcibly removed themselves from the one of the strongest empires in the world. Battling against political reform, the subtraction of resources from the motherland, the debt accrued by colonists, and the bank wars, America struggles to create a self-sustaining country.
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.