A History of Political Parties in the US

[Pages:25]A History of Political Parties in the US

What is a Political Party?

A Political Party is a group of persons who seek to control government through the winning of elections and the holding of public office

Usually have like-minded beliefs and philosophies on government's purpose and specific policies

3 Parts of a Political Party:

The Party Organization ? the leaders, activists, and donors who "run" the party at the national, state, and local levels

The Party in Government ? Those who run for or hold elected or appointed offices in government (thousands at the national, state, and local levels)

The Party in the Electorate ? The millions of voting citizens who identify with a certain party and will cast their votes based on party affiliation (loyal to their party)

The 2 Party System

2 Party system begins with the Federalists and the Democratic Republicans

Federalists ? favored wealthy/elite class and big govt. ? led by Alexander Hamilton

Democratic-Republicans ? Favored "Yeoman" farmers and small govt., led by Thomas Jefferson

Party Platform ? formal set of principle goals, objectives, or agenda of a Political Party/Candidate

Both the Federalist and Democratic-Republican Parties had platforms based around issues on the start of the US

Notable Political Party History

1815 ? the once powerful Federalist Party crumbles after being perceived as traitors and anti-American, leaving only the Democratic Republican Party and the "era of good feelings"

1824-The Democratic-Republican Party splits into two parties

John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay start the "National Republican Party" based on their idea to build up the nations resources after the War of 1812

Andrew Jackson founds the "Democratic Party" with his supporters, maintained a strong belief in democracy "by the common man"

Notable Political Party History

The National Republican Party changes their name to the Whig Party

Changed name so it was the same as the British Political Party that favors Government Reform

The boiling issue over Slavery prior to the Civil War destroyed the Whig Party

Turned into the "Free Soil Party" which included citizens against expansion of Slavery

Free Soil Party changes its name to the "National Union Party" which gained even more popularity in the North

Notable Political Party History

Abraham Lincoln is the first President elected as a member of the National Union Party, which is starting to be referred to as the new "Republican Party"

National Union Party officially changes its name to Republican Party after the Civil War

Ever since Civil War, the 2 Major parties have been the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, though their platforms have evolved over time

The Political Spectrum

Things to Consider

Political Spectrum can be very complicated to decipher personally, people may take many different points of view across the spectrum

At its most basic, the political spectrum is essentially a difference in viewing how much Government involvement there should be in society

A more complicated world has made the Political Spectrum more complicated

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