Political Parties In We The People

America is a land of very diverse people from all parts of the world. They all have wide varieties of interests, which are represented by both parties of its political system. The Democrats and Republicans represent two different standpoints; although they concentrate on the same issues both of them have different views on how the issues should be addressed. Two presidential campaigns in which the parties’ candidates differed on the issues are that of 1988 and 1996. Democracy only works when the people who represent the masses differ on the issues, so that to protect our freedom and the parties of our political system are the best representation of this ideology.

Political parties today started to form in the late 1600’s. In 1787, Hamilton and other leaders joined and called themselves the Federalist. The Federalist party is the party which is most qualified for the presidency because the Federalist want a central government, want to avoid foreign affairs, and also want a central banking system. First a strong central governments.

Generally speaking, anyone who lives in the United States of America knows that there are two main political parties—the Republicans and the Democrats. Having two main parties has its advantages and, of course, its disadvantages. For example, in By the People James E. Monroe and Rogan Kersh (301) point out having this type of system creates “predictability and stability.” However, they also declare (301) it can “lead to a gridlock.” This is not a new concept either as there has been a divide since the beginning of both parties. The two parties more often than not disagree on various issues, while rarely agreeing on what is best for the country.

The Founding Fathers believed that political parties were dangerous and a threat to a popular republican government. Despite the foreboding of the Founders, parties formed and are still around to this day. I agree with the statement that “parties make the process work, clarify issues, and present clear alternatives. And when the parties are in a weakened state, it is bad for the country.” I think in their most basic form, parties do play a vital role in our government, but I understand why the Founders were hesitant about them.

Despite the fact the founding fathers advised contrary to the establishment of political factions as the Constitution withstood the ratification process, a rift amongst men in President George Washington’s cabinet instituted the move toward the conception of political party. During the time period between 1791 and 1833, a two-party system had begun that demonstrated the philosophy of the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans. Although these two political groups were unyielding in their original ideas and beliefs, both had to change a few of their initial standpoints on numerous topics as they dealt with the truth of the government.

The political system of America is very different from other developed and developing democracies. Most notable is the increased power bestowed on the upper house of the parliament, the extensive power held by the Supreme Court and the dominance demonstrated by only two major parties. In the United States, third parties have the least influence on the world’s most developed democracy’s political structure. In this democracy, people are under the US Constitution of the governmental system as well as state government and other units of local government. Local government entails counties, districts and municipalities. The evolution of the American political party system has come a long way; with Hamilton and Jefferson being regarded as the founder fathers of the modern party system. These were heads of the Federalist and Anti-Federalist groups in the 18th century of American politics. Ever since, the country has maintained a party system that has two main parties that are relatively stable. These are Democrats and Republicans and have remained in contest for election every time since the 1860 presidential elections. Initially, the Republican Party was the dominant party but the Democrats later gained dominance. However, the two parties became closely competitive and neither of them has been notably dominant since the 1970s (O'Connor & Sabato, n.d).

There are copious Americans who believe that the political party system is shattering our nation. In my opinion, our nation would not be the nation we are today without political parties. Other than presenting candidates and electoral campaigns to the electorate, political parties perform innumerable tasks to better the United States of America. They serve as institutionalized mediators between our society and duly elected representatives who are responsible for determining and executing legislations. They seek public policy priorities and civic needs and concerns identified by their affiliates and supporters. Political parties educate the people on how the political, electoral system, and general political values work. By doing so, voters are well informed of each party’s stance on specific matters. They also inspire individuals to participate in political decisions and turning their outlooks into policy options for all. Unlike other countries, America is a democratic nation we want our people to freely voice their thoughts and support the party who shares their interest and perspectives. In addition, political parties help to annihilate any unexpected shifts in political trends that hold the ability to disrupt the balance of our government. As we all know our nation is a two -party system that assist in advocating stability in the government, because there will only ever be two

Although the founding fathers advised against the establishment of “political factions” as the Constitution was going through the ratification process, which was the split between the men in President George Washington’s cabinet. Their initiative was to move toward the idea of political party. By the end of the of the first decade, the existence of the United States under its current constitution, a two-party system, had began. Although these two political entities were steadfast in their initials ideals, both parties had to modify some of their original positions on various issues as they faced the reality of governance.

The subject of political parties in the United States of America has been discussed and debated from the very earliest years after its founding. In his farewell address in 1796, George Washington warned American citizens against political parties saying that “they are likely…to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government.” Nevertheless, he recognized that they are “inseparable from our nature” and served uses in keeping “checks upon the administration of government.” (CN) The founders did not include political parties in the Constitution,

The Constitution may also be argued to be a contributing factor in the development of political parties as some argue that Federalists ‘loosely’ followed the Constitution, whereas Jeffersonians ‘strictly’ followed it. The historian John H. Aldrich argues that “Ratification of the Constitution launched America’s “great experiment,” testing the viability of democracy. This experiment began before national political parties were invented”[8] and therefore the constitution forced Americans into a democratic society in which made it somewhat compulsory to form an opinion, which was expressed through support of political parties. However, historian Peter W. Schramm argues, “The American Founders believed that parties were antithetical to republican government.”[9] This to some extent could be due to an American desire to not have political parties, and therefore be able to express personal opinions through a democracy rather than two distinctly polarized opinions. Nevertheless, it would be almost impossible to argue that the

The question posed by both Madison and the Framers in the 85 “Federalist Papers” and Dahl in his book How Democratic is the American Constitution? is how effective the Constitution is at promoting the ideals of a democracy. For Dahl, there are several issues surrounding the Constitution, from its drafting, to its ideology, to its relevance. By analyzing Dahl’s critiques of the Constitution in terms of the parallels that exist between factions and the two-party system, the issue of unequal representation, and the necessity for the Framers to compromise on their ideals to ratify the Constitution, Dahl defined a clear argument based in his general disapproval for the Constitution. However, by combining Dahl’s critiques with potential rebuttals from the opinions and perspectives of Madison and his fellow Federalists, it is evident that both Dahl and the Framers believed that if the constitution was completely successful, then the lives of the American people would be enhanced. While Dahl believed that the Constitution, ultimately, has not fully protected the rights of all persons, he, like the Framers, focused on the particulars of government that must be improved such that the American life is bettered.

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.

There have been many different political parties since the beginning of the American political system. A political party is made up of a group of people that share common goals and ideals, and these people work together to help elect people to offices that share these goals to represent them. Political parties work to try to control the government and their ultimate goal is to win as many elections and to gain as many offices as possible.

In political campaigns, the viewpoints of the individual candidates are often reflective of the positions of their political parties. In the upcoming presidential election, there are issues which have the power to divide the nation. One of the most divisive issues at present is the question of gay marriage and whether or not the federal government should weigh in on what has thus far been a states' rights issue. Both on the state and national levels, the perspective of the people in the various political jurisdictions will determine the way in which they vote. If a party agrees with the population's view on an issue, the people will be more likely to vote with that party. The two major parties, the Republicans and Democrats, have officially been against gay marriage although a few have differed from the party's position. Less is known where some of the "third" parties, such as the Green Party, Libertarian Party, and Constitution Party, stand on the issue.

Parties are not mentioned in the U.S. Constitution, they are vital to the function of the electoral system in the states. Parties organize opposition by recruiting and nominating candidates, act as opposition powerless, unify electorate, and provide government and people linkage.(Magleby 55)