Essay on Political Parties in the United States

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.

In the United States there are only two main political parties to choose from. The two main parties are the Democrats and the Republicans. There are also many other political parties to choose from which are called third parties. Third parties may include political parties such as the Socialist Equality Party and the Peace and Equality party. People can choose to be a part of any party they want but most go with the common two main parties the Democrats and Republicans. Democrats and Republicans have many similarities and differences. These mainly occur in international, social, economic, and domestic issues.

“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.

A political party is defined as a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government. They agree on policies and programs for the society with a view to promote their supporters' interests. In democracies, political parties are elected by the electorate to run a government. The United States is a considered a two-party system, with its two most powerful parties being the Republican Party and the Democratic Party.

“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

The Democratic Party was led by Andrew Jackson, who reorganized the party. In 1828 he defeated John Quincy Adams in the presidential election. The platform of the Democratic Party was supporting a popular democracy, where the people elected the president directly. Andrew Jackson and the Democratic Party were against the national bank. He believed the national bank did not serve the common interest for the common man. (Norton, M.B.

When Washington retired from his presidency, non-stop issues arose between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson about government policies, economic policies, and foreign policies that led to the creation of political parties. The First Party System started in 1790s and ended in early 1800s. The Federalist Party led by Hamilton and John Adams and the Democratic-Republican Party led by Jefferson and James Madison. Hamilton and Jefferson had different political views, but both wanted what was best for the country.

The Federalists and Republicans became the first political parties in the United States in the election of 1796. The Federalists and the Republicans clashed an array of times throughout the early national period, over issues relating to the future of the United States. The Federalist Party consisted of Alexander Hamilton and his supports, and favored a commercial economy and strong central government. The Republican Party was led by Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, they were in favor of an agrarian economy and states’ rights. The problems prevalent in the United States led to each parties supporters to take varying positions on these issues.

Then came about the Era of Good Feelings which was the period in which the disappearance of the Federalists enabled the Republicans to govern in a spirit of seemingly nonpartisan harmony. The diplomatic achievements of the Era or Good Feelings were due almost entirely to the efforts of John Quincy Adams, Monroe’s secretary of state. During the election of 1824 John Quincy Adams was against Andrew Jackson, Jackson had more electoral and popular votes but Adams won the election. Adams won because neither candidate had an electoral majority, leaving it up to the House of Representatives to decide. Adams only served for one term, there was no question about the fact Jackson was going to win the next election and he did. The election of 1828 was the first to demonstrate the power and effectiveness of the new popular democratic culture and party system. The Democrat party was formed under the leadership of Andrew Jackson; favoring states’ rights and a limited role for the federal government.

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

In conclusion, the American populace gained a sense of national identity and united under the motive of independence after fighting a revolutionary war, in order to break free from Great Britain. It was following 1790 that the United States started seeing the formation of political parties. Most notably, the Federalist party lead by Hamilton, and the Democratic-Republican party led by Jefferson became prominent in American

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

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.

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.

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)