The Impact of Two Strong Political Parties on America’s Politics
The Constitution has nothing to say about political parties. Nowhere does it define political parties or explicitly specify that there should be two dominant parties. Nevertheless, America has had a strong two party system for last 150 years, a degree of party stability and endurance that can be found in no other nation (Landy and Milkis, 451). This system of two dominant parties has both its advantages and its drawbacks, the same as any system will. The two strong parties simplify and stabilize American politics from both the citizens’ and the politicians’ point of view and allow for government to be unified across the separation of powers built into the Constitution (Romance, July 22). The competition between the parties usually means that such unification will be fairly rare and that without it, policy changes will be forced to proceed slowly (July 22). This can be seen as either a pro or a con of the system depending on one’s beliefs about the proper role of government. The two party system, while not originally an intentional facet of the American governmental system, is now an integral component of that system and has several important effects on the shape of political opinion and the course of electoral politics.
A political party is “any group, no matter how loosely defined, seeking to elect government office holders under a given label” (Romance, July 22). The ideology of the party is secondary to that goal and subject to change over time (July 22). The goal remains the same, to collect political power by electing office holders under the party name (July 22). The concept is a simple one of political alliance and power in numbers, and while it seems ...
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...the parties and in some ways weakening them. The parties used and continue to use their political power to present candidates and influence voter decisions and the electoral process, itself. Through over 150 years of development and changes these two parties have steadily remained the two biggest shapers of American politics. They are present at nearly every level of government and prominently affect nearly every aspect of politics. Though individual voter partisanship is declining, America as a nation often still remains cleanly split along party lines. America’s political parties are undoubtedly an integral component of the country’s politics.
Works Cited
Landy, Marc and Sidney M. Milkis. American Government: Balancing Democracy and Rights. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2004.
Romance, Joseph. Political Science 6 class lectures. Drew University, Summer 2004.
Was the formation of a two-party system in America inevitable? Despite George Washington’s warnings of the drawbacks in his farewell address, America continued on its path, and the system was established anyway. The emergence of a two-party system was inevitable in the United States for many reasons. One reason for the two party systems that formed were simply common issues of the day. This included the issue of federal power versus state power, which dominated American politics during the 1700s. America was also quite polar, meaning different regions tended to have different views and opinions from the others. Political parties often appealed to specific regions. Matters of the day were very influential on the types of political parties present in America, who tended to form around issues, rather than issues being assigned to them like in present day politics.
It’s hard to imagine a period in American political history that hasn’t been dominated by a duopoly of political parties. Even though resistance from the founding fathers on the issue of political parties is well documented, the two-party system we are well accustomed to developed shortly after the emergence of the United States as an independent nation. Whether it was the Federalist/Democratic-Republican system in the late 18th and early 19th centuries or the Democratic/Republican system we know today, two ideologically opposite parties have always maintained dominant control of the American political system. The existence of third parties and independent candidates, therefore, complicates the political system that we have used for centuries. Steven Rosenstone contends that the existence of our current two-party system is due, in part, to the ability of the two major parties to provide benefits in exchange for voter support. What then occurs when either of the major parties fails in its responsibility to be accountable to the public? While several options exist, including the demand for change within major parties, third parties and independent candidates become a viable option to restore a sense of accountability among American politicians. Even though third parties and independent candidates might seem attractive to voters, they often are unable to find success in any major elections. This lack of success can be attributed to many different factors, including constitutional and electoral barriers, as well as deficiencies born from the general lack of knowledge about third parties. Why then do third parties and independent candidates continue to exist in American politics? The ability of a third party to influence the policy p...
Poe, Edgar A. “The Cask of Amontillado” The Collected Tales and Poems of Edgar Allen Poe.
The United States of America has engaged in the battle known as political polarization since before its foundation in 1776. From the uprising against the powerful British nation to the political issues of today, Americans continue to debate about proper ideology and attempt to choose a side that closely aligns with their personal beliefs. From decade to decade, Americans struggle to determine a proper course of action regarding the country as a whole and will often become divided on important issues. Conflicts between supporters of slavery and abolitionists, between agriculturalists and industrialists, and between industrial workers and capitalists have fueled the divide. At the Congressional level there tends to be a more prevalent display of polarization and is often the blame of Congress’ inefficiency. James Madison intentionally designed Congress to be inefficient by instating a bicameral legislation. Ambition would counter ambition and prevent majority tyranny. George Washington advised against political parties that would contribute to polarization and misrepresentation in his Farewell Address of 1796. Washington warns, “One of the expedients of party to acquire influence within particular districts is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts.” Today, the struggle to increase power between political parties results in techniques to gain even the smallest marginal gains. To truly understand political polarization, we must examine data collected through a variety of means, the effects of rapidly changing technology, and observe what techniques are used to create such a polarized political system.
A two-party system is a political system in which only two parties have a realistic opportunity to compete effectively for control. As a result, all, or nearly all, elected officials end up being a member in one of the two major parties. In a two-party system, one of the parties usually holds a majority in the legislature hence, being referred to as the majority party while the other party is the minority party. The United States of America is considered to be a two-party system. A two-party system emerged early in the history of the new Republic. Beginning with the Federalists and the Jeffersonian Republicans in the late 1780s, two major parties have dominated national politics, although which particular two parties has changed with the times and issues. During the nineteenth century, the Democrats and Republicans emerged as the two dominant parties in American politics. As the American party system evolved, many third parties emerged, but few of them remained in existence for very long. Today the Democrats and Republican still remain as the dominant parties. These two parties hav...
Political parties have been around since almost the beginning of this great country. Although George Washington strongly opposed political parties, and also warned the nation to stay away from forming political parties, the first political parties were formed right under his own nose. In George Washington’s cabinet was where the first parties started. The cause of these parties was simply differences in views. The thought of leaders of these two completely different parties was Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Jefferson started what then was known of as Republican or the Anti-Federalist. On the other hand Hamilton started what was known of as the Federalist Party. Both of these parties formed in the seventeen hundreds. These two parties have evolved into today being known as the Democratic, and the Republican parties. On the contrary one of the largest third party groups, the tea party was formed just recently in the year two thousand and nine. All three of these political parties effect our government today.
The term party system refers to the organizations, the balance of power and the institutional bases of the country. Though the Founding Fathers, particularly George Washington, warned the nation about becoming a two-party system, America has been a strong two party nation since the 1790s, when the Federalist competed against the Jeffersonian Republicans. In the present days, the two predominant parties are the Democratic and the Republican Parties, but, as mentioned before, this was not always the case. The first party system was constituted in 1790s. The
All over the country people are gearing up for the upcoming election for the next
“It was a big, squarish frame house that had once been white, decorated with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies in the heavily lightsome style of the seventies, set on what had once been our most select street” (287). Faulkner starts the story off with a mental picture of Emily’s house to be an old Victorian house. It is on a street that is commercializing which makes the house stand out and appear out of place.
The chosen article is the“Two-and-a-half-party System and the Comparative Role of the Half”, which was written by Alan Siaroff, an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Lethbridge in Canada, this article published in the Party Politics in 2003.
With every turn of the page, the dark and twisted storyline of “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner leaves the reader in a stronger state of shock and inevitably speechless. Faulkner cleverly uses symbols, characters, and theme to illustrate the inner thoughts of Emily Grierson and the community’s ongoing struggle between tradition and modernism. .
Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Cask of Amontillado.” The Norton Anthology: American Literature. Ed. Wayne Franklin, Philip F. Gurpa, Arnold Krupat. New York: Norton, 2007. 1612-1613, 1616. Print.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Cask of Amontillado." Reading and Writing about Literature. Phillip Sipiora. New Jersey: Pearson Education, 2002. 240-244.
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In representative government, parties are often found. Perhaps the most prevalent danger in a party system is a party split, which paralyzes government just as much as a divergence of executive, legislative, and judicial powers in government.