An Examination of America's Two Party System

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An Examination of America's Two Party System

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 emerged occasionally, and smaller parties--that win few offices--have continued for decades. But the existing two-party system has become institutionalized and has added a persistent layer of mediation between the people and their government. There are both positive and negative sides to this system, but in recent decades citizens' faith in the two main parties has declined as the Republican and Democratic parties have had difficulty in reconciling the varying interests of the people who make up their memberships. In the 19th century, political parties were much more powerful than they are today. They often motivated voter turnouts as high as 80%. Today, in an effort to appeal to more voters, the Democratic and Republican party platforms have become more vague and moderate. As a result more and more Americans see the two parties as less important and nearly one-third of Americans consider themselves "independent" with no party affiliation, while voter turnout averages less than 50% in each elec...

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...ion with the processes of democratic self-government.

Bibliography:

Barone, Michael. "Beneath the Two-Party System." National Review, 11 December 1995, 64-65.

Collet, Christian. "Third Parties and the Two-Party System." Public Opinion Quarterly 60 (Fall 1996): 431-449.

Crabtree, Susan. "Bosses No Longer the Life of the Party." Insight on the News, 11 March 1996, 18-19.

Herrnson, Paul. "Field Work, Political Parties, and Volunteerism." In Campaigns and Elections American Style, ed. James A Thurber and Candice J. Nelson, 152-60. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1995.

Leiter, Lisa. "We Are the Democratic Party." Insight on the News, 4 March 1996, 9-11.

Reddy, Patrick. "Campaigning by the Numbers: Political Demographics Mean Trouble for Democrats, But Don't Necessarily Add Up To Republican Victories." National Review, 12 August 1996, 45-48.

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