An Examination of America's Two Party System Essay

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.

In recent discussion of Democrats and Republican parties, a controversial issue has been whether or not the U.S. should expand their options from more than a two party system. On the one hand, some argue that there should be more choices other than between the two Democrat Party and Republican Party. From this perspective, voters have more of a variety when they vote. On the other hand, some argue that the U.S. should remain as a two party system. In the words of Gary Johnson, one of this view’s main proponents, “The Republicans and Democrats have spent decades trading power back and forth between themselves, and in doing so, have managed to install a two-party duopoly that completely controls America’s political process.” According to this view, Democrats and Republicans are dictating other parties opportunities to get elected. In sum, then, the issue is whether there should be other options rather than a choice between the Democrat and the Republican Party. I agree with Gary Johnson’s view that the Democrat and Republican Parties are controlling America’s

A two party system is strong and influential although it allows lesser parties to exist and have an influence. As a result a majority party will form the government and the minority party will form the opposition, and coalitions of the lesser parties are possible. These systems can also be multi-party systems. The Two-party sytem has advantages and disadvantages they consist of: Advantages,: It can lead to political stability which leads, in turn, to economic growth, two-party systems have been seen as preferable to multi-party systems because they are simple to govern, while multi-party systems can sometimes lead to parliament. The disadvantages: Two-party systems have been criticized extreme views, and putting a second opinion on debate within a nation, two-party systems for fail to provide enough options since only two choices are permitted on the ballot, the problem with having only two parties is that the nation loses "the ability for things to bubble up from the body politic and give voice to things that aren’t being voiced by the major parties." Multi-party governments permit wider and more diverse viewpoints in government, and encourage dominant parties to make deals with weaker parties to form winning coalitions. I think having a two-party system is ideal because neither major party is strong enough to win without bringing up specific topics that they believe in or their ideology of their party. The way the Republicans and Democrats present

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.

America had just successfully broken away from Britain and was trying to establish itself as a new nation in the world. The Constitution was still in effect and holding the nation together and giving it boundaries to abide by. Many people had polarized views of the Constitution, some with a strict interpretation and others with a loose interpretation of the Constitution. It is these differing views, therefore, which created various political parties throughout the country. During the early 1800’s, there were many presidential elections with all the candidates looking to fill the rolls of their predecessors, George Washington and John Adams. Each candidate looked to leave a positive lasting impact on the growth and development of the United States. There were multiple candidates for each election, each with varying views on government and different issues to address during each election. The

In 1788 when the first United States election was held, no major political parties existed. In fact, George Washington was unanimously elected president. However, as Washington’s presidency continued, factions, the predecessors of parties, began to form. After Alexander Hamilton created the National Bank, two political parties were born. The first party, the Federalists, supported a strong central government with a national bank and power over states. In contrast, the second party, the Democratic Republicans, supported states’ rights and a weak central government based on a strict interpretation of the Constitution. The two parties coexisted and fought, taking sides on issues such as the military, Constitution, and power of states. In

Political parties in America have been prevalent since the Federalist Party was founded by Alexander Hamilton, and the Democratic-Republican party was founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, in the 1790s ("Compare U.S. Political Parties"). These parties were developed from sharp differences in opinion. During this time period, there were opposing views on how the government should be organized (Flanders). In short, the Federalist Party wanted a strong federal government and the Democratic-Republican Party believed that states’ rights would be weakened in result of a strong federal government ("Compare U.S. Political Parties"). They also had differing views on how strict the Constitution should be, the economy and foreign policy. As the country grew, so did its pressing issues and citizen’s opinions on these issues. Consequently, the names of these political parties eventually changed to the Republican Party and the Democratic Party as more people began to band together to for their common belief ("Compare U.S. Political Parties").

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 Democratic party has not always been the progressive party that it claims to be now. The morphed out of anti-federalists and were originally led by Thomas Jefferson (Democratic Party). They were also known as the Republican Party until Federalists started calling them Democratic Republicans in reference to the radical democrats of the French Revolution. They began to adopt the name in 1798 after the Federalist John Adams was elected. In 1800 Jefferson beat Adams kick-starting a string of democratic wins and punctuating the beginning of the federalists descent into obscurity. In the 1810s and 20s new states entered the union and some states passed direct elections, meaning they voted in the election directly and not the representative as they previously did. The direct election caused a

Partisan Politics in the newly formed United States of America was being established before the stipulated time governing this essay suggests. From as early as the Articles of Confederation and by the time of Ratification, Partisan politics was well on its way to play an integral role in the United States political life. It was tried to be avoided as dual-parties were thought to be a weakness in a Nation, however this was unavoidable.

In 1790, the United States had just recently broke free from the British crown and united under the cause of liberty. But in spite of this, Americans saw political rifts brought about by the rise of political parties. The rise of political parties in 1790 was caused by general distrust, disagreements on policies, and constitutional disagreements between the Federalist and Democratic-Republican parties, which were led by Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, respectively.

In the United States, voters have the choice between Republican and Democrats for elected officials. While there are people on tickets for other parties, historically their chance of getting elected is slim. This is a reality that Americans have lived with, and its roots can be traced back to the beginning of the republic. Post-Revolution America brought about much debate over how the government should be ran, how big it should be, and how officials would be elected. Through this political turmoil, many agree that two men had strong voices in how the government should be shaped, Founding Fathers Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, and they, combined with the overall eventual setup of the government, are what led to the formation and

A two-party system has two major parties that control the government whether you’re republican or democratic, they promote the public good. For example, the public goods are being used every day even we don’t notice, like when we meet up with friends and family at a coffee shop, we are receiving the benefit of air conditioning that we often don’t pay for. In other words, public goods are products or “a helping hand” we all use by the government. The two-party system in which two major political parties influence voting in nearly all elections at every degree of government, resulting most elected offices are associates of one of the two major parties. A major reason for the two-party system is the electoral system, which is appertaining to a

The two party system has become the focus of the american government. It seems that when discussing politics, the idea of Republican versus Democrat is always presented in some fashion. It seems to be a bit strange that this issue has become more important than the actual problems which our nation faces or the people who represent us. With all of this bickering between the two parties, it makes one wonder if this system of government is actually benefiting the United States as a nation.

As a political science student, I don’t think I every questioned the notion of the United States having a two party system. I just figured that it was a part of history. For the past 150 years, it has been the democratic and the republican party. "In 1828, the well known war legend Andrew Jackson turned into the primary President from another gathering, the Democrats, the genuine party "of the people."  except for one term when the Whigs  won the Presidency, the Democrats held the White House until 1860.