Introduction
America’s political history can be traced back to the second half of the 18th century. But today, these parties have undergone some sort of political evolution to form two major parties namely, the Democrats and the Republican parties.
Initially, America had only one party. Later, two parties emerged: the federalist and the old Republican/ Jeffersonian parties. The Federalist Party Just like both the parties advocate for strong and sound currency produced America’s first constitutional president George Washington (1789). The Jeffersonian party suffered a split in 1828 giving rise to two parties namely, The Democrats and the Whigs. (National Republican).
1854 is a significant year for the Republicans since it is the year the Whig defectors opposed slavery, the free sailors, and the free Democrats came together to form the Republican Party. The 1860 election saw Abraham Lincoln become the Republicans’ first president. The Democrats agitated for more power for the state while the Whigs wanted a stronger federal government. One site captures the parties’ present philosophies.
Both the Democratic and Republican parties have undergone significant ideological transformations throughout their histories. The modern Democratic Party traditionally supports organized labor, minorities, and progressive reforms. By contrast, the national Republican Party supports limited government regulation of the economy, lower taxes, and more conservative (traditional) social policies. This is a pointer to the policy differences between the two parties.
Just like both the parties advocate for a strong and sound currency, both the Democratic and Republican parties select their candidates to the office through primary elections.
Several issues are responsible for the demise of these parties
To start with, the federalist was brought down by leaders disagreement.
In 1828, The Democrats (Andrew Jackson) attempted to decentralize the Government but this was sharply opposed by The Whigs and caused the party problems. The party suffered another blow when the conflict over slavery began and this too further weakened the party.
The Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal, The Gulf war among other factors have also worked to shape America’s politics. Today, thousands of American soldiers are losing their lives on the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan and this too like the Vietnam War, does not go down well with the American population and is likely to influence voting in next year’s (2008) elections.
While the two-party system has rocked America’s political landscape, there are other political parties though they have been reduced to mere accessories helping the two major parties win.
Of late, there has been a radical departure from party-based politics to a candidate-based politics-a candidate is elected based on who they are rather than their party affiliations. Then the difference in party policies has little influence. Again, today the American politics is less susceptible to control by party bosses and this depicts a degree of political maturity.
Conclusion
As it has emerged from above, there is a whole spectrum of issues that come into play to determine America’s politics. In conclusion, American politics is still evolving and these issues and others will continue to shape and define America’s politics in terms of the party system, political alignment, candidate election, and generally, people’s political leanings.
References
“United States.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. 2007. Web.