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Essay The Rise of Political Parties
Essay The Rise of Political Parties
The rise of American political parties
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Abigail Nelson
Political Parties
We live in a society where we as people can make our own decisions and voice our own opinions. People with the same or similar views will usually form a group or join a group together. These groups turn into political. Political parties as well as elections play a major role in politics all around the world. A political party is a gathering of voters sorted out to help make decisions and help decide what is best for the people. The point of a political gathering is to choose authorities who will endeavor to complete the gathering's strategies.
Political parties as we know them did not develop until the late 1600s. The ancient Greeks had no organized political parties. The Senate of the ancient romans had two
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In the end these debates and problems led to the Civil War. By 1854, slavery was worldwide. Debate over slavery and states’ rights divided the parties. Northern abolitionists left the Whig party, and the Whigs lost people to the “Know Nothings.” The Know Nothings disagreed with the roman Catholics and foreigners. Also happening at the same time, slavery and states rights were dividing the Democrats into northern and southern branches. In 1856, the Republicans ran their first presidential candidate. His name was John C. Fremont. In 1861, the southern states seceded, and the Civil War …show more content…
For many years the Republicans were the major party. It was not until the 1930s that the two major parties were majorly divided again. The great depression struck the country at the same time. Democrats thought that the federal government must actively help people who had been hurt by the Depression. Republicans didn’t agree with what the government was doing and started to believe that the government was taking too much power. They fought against governmental interference with business. The issues on which they disagree often on today, are not goals so much as how best to keep the economy growing, protect the environment, and maintain a strong national
At first, the original parties were focusing on their international relations. The main issues that the first parties encountered were based around were topics such as trade, the military, and national debt. The Federalists wanted the government to regulate trade and spend more money on the military, where the Democratic-Republicans wanted just the opposite. Once the second generation of political parties developed, a lot of those issues were for the most part already resolved. Time was still spent on trade and developing the economy, but there were so many more issues that revolved around problems in the nation. The new issues were topics such as universal suffrage, slavery (civil rights), and territorial expansion. For example, the Whigs opposed slavery where the Democratic Party accepted it. The parties changed into dealing with topics like these because the nation was developing and changing. Once the first parties were able to establish the foundation of the nation, the second generation began to deal with all of these new issues that come hand and hand with a developed
American democracy is fluid; it is constantly evolving and changing. The earliest divide in American politics stems from the very establishment of the government. Regardless of the hope the American founders possessed, political parties began to form almost immediately as the country began to take shape. Today, the two main parties are the Democrats and the Republicans, however each party was not always the same at their start as they are currently.
Politics and its inner working can be described as the activities that determine the governance of a specific area, country, or continent. Imagine living in the United States during the 1800’s when there were two political parties, namely Federalists and Democratic-Republicans. Personally, I would choose to join the Democratic-Republican Party. As compared to the Federalist Party, the Democratic-Republicans had their policies centralized. They emphasized on agrarian interests that protected the rights of every single individual living in the United States of America. I would be very focused on promoting these facts to my best friends.
The Presidential Election of 1820 was during a time of sincere peace and harmony within America. Previous to the election, the Federalists disappeared during the war of 1812 because they were labeled as traitors. Because of this, political rivalries and conflicts were at an all time low, and only one political party with one candidate would run for office. This period was called the “Era of Good Feelings” (MultiEducator) and was a time of nationalism and little sectionalism.
In 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected as president of the United States of America, the repercussions of which led to civil war. However it was not only Lincoln’s election that led to civil war but also the slavery debate between the northern and southern states and the state of the economy in the United States. Together with the election of Lincoln these caused a split, both politically and ideologically, between the North and South states which manifested into what is now refereed to as the American Civil War.
In the 1790s, soon after the ratification of the Constitution, political parties were nonexistent in the USA because President Washington feared they would drive the country apart. However, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, with their rivalling mental models, could not help but spark the division of the United States into the Democratic-Republican and Federalist parties. These parties, the Democratic-Republican wanting a small, local government system and the Federalist wanting a strong, powerful government system, turned citizens against one another and eventually led to the inimical Democratic and Republican parties of today. Hence, the formation of the original political parties in the United States is very significant. Political
Since the beginning of the Market Revolution, the institution of slavery became the leading factor that intensified the relations between the North and the South. Regarding the geographic differences between the North and South, the South was primarily agrarian and the North was mainly urban. Therefore, the North rapidly industrialized while the South remained relatively rural and cotton-slave based. As a result, the Market Revolution economically separated the North and the South and created a second party system. Thus, the issues of pro-slavery and anti-slavery arose between the Southern Democrats and Northern Republicans in the 1850s. The North desired to halt the expansion of slavery into western territories while the South strongly opposed. These two opposing parties led to radical abolitionism in the North, William Henry Seward and John Brown, and extreme secessionism in the South, James Henry Hammond, and South Carolina Ordinance of Secession. Due to their strict ideologies regarding slavery, both parties could not compromise on the issue of the expansion of slavery. Therefore, according to Americans in the years prior to the Civil War, conflict was inevitable.
In today's day in age, the Democratic and Republican parties seem to be completely diverse. These two parties have completely opposing views on topics ranging from social issues, health care, tax policy, labor and free trade, foreign policy, crime and capital punishment, energy and environmental issues, and even education. Once upon a time however, these two groups were not as polarized as they have become. Both were once a single party known as the Democratic-Republican Party, formed by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in 1791. This sole party favored the idea of a decentralized, democratic government. They despised the idea of the U.S government becoming anything similar to England's monarchy system at the time. They also supported states’ rights as well as the literal and strict interpretation of the U.S Constitution. The group's purpose was to stand against the Federalists who were
The 1860 presidential election was one of the nation’s most memorable. The north and the south sections of the country had a completely different vision of how they envisioned their home land. What made this worse was that their views were completely opposite of each other. The north, mostly republican supporters, want America to be free; free of slaves and free from bondages. While on the other hand, the southern supporters, mostly democratic states, wanted slavery in the country, because this is what they earned their daily living and profit from.
By the year of 1860, the North and the South was developed into extremely different sections. There was opposing social, economic, and political points of view, starting back into colonial periods, and it slowly drove the two regions farther in separate directions. The two sections tried to force its point of view on the nation as a whole. Even though negotiations had kept the Union together for many years, in 1860 the condition was unstable. The presidential election of Abraham Lincoln was observed by the South as a risk to slavery and many believe it initiated the war.
In the 18th Century, there were two different viewpoints, or parties, that define liberty, republicanism and liberalism. While there are differences between these two, there are also fundamental similarities. Together, they “inspire[d] a commitment to constitutional government and restraints on despotic power” (Foner). Both understandings believed that only white men who owned property had these liberties. They saw property as part of the basis of freedom. The ideals of both parties were also taken overseas to America.
Throughout history there has always been a strong line dividing Republicans and Democrats. In 1854 the Republican Party formed, or as some people call it the GOP. Historically, the Republican Party was founded in 1797. The core beliefs differ from both parties. The Republicans believe that it is a person’s own responsibility for his or her own place in society. With the Democratic believing that it is up to the government to provide for society. If someone were to look back on our nation’s history concerning presidents and their political parties. There has been 18 Republican presidents who have served a total of 88 years and 15 Democrats who served a total of 85 years. Most presidential term are limited to two terms for a total of eight years,
A political party is an organization that has similar vision, opinions, and aims in term of politics point of view. Parties are likely seen as the tool and motor of the democracy in the nation as they could be the bridge to connect the civil society with the political agents. In the United States, parties have some functions and roles. For example, political parties have responsibility to recruit candidates for become the public officers, like governors and president. Hence, a party could gain control of the government. Besides, political party also works to gain voices from the society to support the candidate that run for the election.
Our founding fathers were very courageous and intelligent for their ideas and motivation of creating our country the way it is. No country had ever tried such a representative government, and our founding fathers saw that the needs of the people should be first. One of these ideas was to have different political parties, or groups of citizens with similar ideas and morals. These groups elect representatives to go represent their opinions on how we should run the government. When our government was first created, it was a debate between the Federalists and Antifederalists. The Federalists wanted more power in the national government as opposed to more power to the states, which was the opinion of the Antifederalists. Nowadays, we have the Republicans and the Democrats. The Republicans believe strongly in free market, capitalism. Capitalism is an economy where there are little to no restrictions and regulations on owning a business. They are also strongly opposed to same sex marriage and abortion. The Democrats, are strong believers in socialism, which is where everyone is given equal opportunity and pay. They also believe in social justice and opportunity, and universal healthcare, as well as environmental protection. The current president of the United States, President Barack Obama, represents the Democrat
There are many factors that contribute to one’s political view. According to the book, due to the overwhelming statistics of my category, the political party I should belong to is Democratic. The characteristics that this decision is based off of is gender, race, ethnicity, age, and religion. These subjects all weigh on the view and values people acquire throughout their childhood and adolescence. Moreover, adopting a political opinion is crucial for those that desire to voice their concern on governmental matters. Although according to the book, American Government: Roots and Reform, many people are lacking the right to voice their concern on governmental issues, and so are left unheard. The governmental parties are a contributing factor to the system, it is practically the foundation of the political ideology in America.