What are the main political parties in the usa

Political parties

The United States has two major national political parties, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. Although the parties contest presidential elections every four years and have national party organizations, between elections they are often little more than loose alliances of state and local party organizations. Other parties have occasionally challenged the Democrats and Republicans. Since the Republican Party’s rise to major party status in the 1850s, however, minor parties have had only limited electoral success, generally restricted either to influencing the platforms of the major parties or to siphoning off enough votes from a major party to deprive that party of victory in a presidential election. In the 1912 election, for example, former Republican president Theodore Roosevelt challenged Republican President William Howard Taft, splitting the votes of Republicans and allowing Democrat Woodrow Wilson to win the presidency with only 42 percent of the vote, and the 2.7 percent of the vote won by Green Party nominee Ralph Nader in 2000 may have tipped the presidency toward Republican George W. Bush by attracting votes that otherwise would have been cast for Democrat Al Gore.

Both the Democratic and Republican parties have undergone significant ideological transformations throughout their histories. The modern Democratic Party traditionally supports organized labour, minorities, and progressive reforms. Nationally, it generally espouses a liberal political philosophy, supporting greater governmental intervention in the economy and less governmental regulation of the private lives of citizens. It also generally supports higher taxes (particularly on the wealthy) to finance social welfare benefits that provide assistance to the elderly, the poor, the unemployed, and children. By contrast, the national Republican Party supports limited government regulation of the economy, lower taxes, and more conservative (traditional) social policies. In 2009 the Tea Party movement, a conservative populist social and political movement, emerged and attracted mostly disaffected Republicans.

At the state level, political parties reflect the diversity of the population. Democrats in the Southern states are generally more conservative than Democrats in New England or the Pacific Coast states; likewise, Republicans in New England or the mid-Atlantic states also generally adopt more liberal positions than Republicans in the South or the mountain states of the West. Large urban centres are more likely to support the Democratic Party, whereas rural areas, small cities, and suburban areas tend more often to vote Republican. Some states have traditionally given majorities to one particular party. For example, because of the legacy of the Civil War and its aftermath, the Democratic Party dominated the 11 Southern states of the former Confederacy until the mid-20th century. Since the 1960s, however, the South and the mountain states of the West have heavily favoured the Republican Party; in other areas, such as New England, the mid-Atlantic, and the Pacific Coast, support for the Democratic Party is strong. Compare, for example, the 1960 and presidential elections.

By the early 21st century, political pundits were routinely dividing the United States into red and blue states, whose assigned colours not only indicated which political party was locally dominant but also signified the supposed prevalence of a set of social and cultural values. According to the received wisdom, the red states—generally located in the South, West, and Lower Midwest—were Republican, conservative, God-fearing, “pro-life” (on the issue of abortion), small-town and suburban, opposed to big government and same-sex marriage, and enamoured of NASCAR. The blue states—found mostly on the coasts, in the Northeast, and in the Upper Midwest—were similarly reductively characterized as Democratic, liberal, secular, politically correct, “pro-choice” (on abortion), urban, and connoisseurs of wine, cheese, and latte.

Both the Democratic and Republican parties select their candidates for office through primary elections. Traditionally, individuals worked their way up through the party organization, belonging to a neighbourhood party club, helping to raise funds, getting out the vote, watching the polls, and gradually rising to become a candidate for local, state, and—depending on chance, talent, political expediency, and a host of other factors—higher office. Because American elections are now more heavily candidate-centred rather than party-centred and are less susceptible to control by party bosses, wealthy candidates have often been able to circumvent the traditional party organization to win their party’s nomination.

Security

National security

The September 11 attacks of 2001 precipitated the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, which is charged with protecting the United States against terrorist attacks. The legislation establishing the department—the largest government reorganization in 50 years—consolidated much of the country’s security infrastructure, integrating the functions of more than 20 agencies under Homeland Security. The department’s substantive responsibilities are divided into four directorates: border and transportation security, emergency preparedness, information analysis and infrastructure protection, and science and technology. The Secret Service, which protects the president, vice president, and other designated individuals, is also under the department’s jurisdiction.

The country’s military forces consist of the U.S. Army, Navy (including the Marine Corps), and Air Force, under the umbrella of the Department of Defense, which is headquartered in the Pentagon building in Arlington county, Virginia. (A related force, the Coast Guard, is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security.) Conscription was ended in 1973, and since that time the United States has maintained a wholly volunteer military force; since 1980, however, all male citizens (as well as immigrant alien males) between 18 and 25 years of age have been required to register for selective service in case a draft is necessary during a crisis. The armed services also maintain reserve forces that may be called upon in time of war. Each state has a National Guard consisting of reserve groups subject to call at any time by the governor of the state.

Because a large portion of the military budget, which generally constitutes about 15 to 20 percent of government expenditures, is spent on matériel and research and development, military programs have considerable economic and political impact. The influence of the military also extends to other countries through a variety of multilateral and bilateral treaties and organizations (e.g., the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) for mutual defense and military assistance. The United States has military bases in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America.

The National Security Act of 1947 created a coordinated command for security and intelligence-gathering activities. The act established the National Security Council (NSC) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the latter under the authority of the NSC and responsible for foreign intelligence. The National Security Agency, an agency of the Department of Defense, is responsible for cryptographic and communications intelligence. The Department of Homeland Security analyzes information gathered by the CIA and its domestic counterpart, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), to assess threat levels against the United States.

Domestic law enforcement

Traditionally, law enforcement in the United States has been concentrated in the hands of local police officials, though the number of federal law-enforcement officers began to increase in the late 20th century. The bulk of the work is performed by police and detectives in the cities and by sheriffs and constables in rural areas. Many state governments also have law-enforcement agencies, and all of them have highway-patrol systems for enforcing traffic law.

The investigation of crimes that come under federal jurisdiction (e.g., those committed in more than one state) is the responsibility of the FBI, which also provides assistance with fingerprint identification and technical laboratory services to state and local law-enforcement agencies. In addition, certain federal agencies—such as the Drug Enforcement Administration of the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms of the Department of the Treasury—are empowered to enforce specific federal laws.

Health and welfare

Despite the country’s enormous wealth, poverty remains a reality for many people in the United States, though programs such as Social Security and Medicare have significantly reduced the poverty rate among senior citizens. In the early 21st century, more than one-tenth of the general population—and about one-sixth of children under 18 years of age—lived in poverty. About half the poor live in homes in which the head of the household is a full- or part-time wage earner. Of the others living in poverty, many are too old to work or are disabled, and a large percentage are mothers of young children. The states provide assistance to the poor in varying amounts, and the United States Department of Agriculture subsidizes the distribution of low-cost food and food stamps to the poor through the state and local governments. Unemployment assistance, provided for by the 1935 Social Security Act, is funded through worker and employer contributions.

Increasing public concern with poverty and welfare led to new federal legislation beginning in the 1960s, especially the Great Society programs of the presidential administration of Lyndon B. Johnson. Work, training, and rehabilitation programs were established in 1964 for welfare recipients. Between 1964 and 1969 the Office of Economic Opportunity began a number of programs, including the Head Start program for preschool children, the Neighborhood Youth Corps, and the Teacher Corps. Responding to allegations of abuse in the country’s welfare system and charges that it encouraged dependency, the federal government introduced reforms in 1996, including limiting long-term benefits, requiring recipients to find work, and devolving much of the decision making to the states.

Persons who have been employed are eligible for retirement pensions under the Social Security program, and their surviving spouses and dependent children are generally eligible for survivor benefits. Many employers provide additional retirement benefits, usually funded by worker and employer contributions. In addition, millions of Americans maintain individual retirement accounts, such as the popular 401(k) plan, which is organized by employers and allows workers (sometimes with matching funds from their employer) to contribute part of their earnings on a tax-deferred basis to individual investment accounts.

The situation changed markedly with the enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), often referred to simply as Obamacare because of its advocacy by Pres. Barack Obama, who signed it into law in March 2010. Considered the most far-reaching health care reform act since the passage of Medicare—but vehemently opposed by most Republicans as an act of government overreach—the PPACA included provisions that required most individuals to secure health insurance or pay fines, made coverage easier and less costly to obtain, cracked down on abusive insurance practices, and attempted to rein in rising costs of health care.

The federal Department of Health and Human Services, through its National Institutes of Health, supports much of the biomedical research in the United States. Grants are also made to researchers in clinics and medical schools.

Housing

About three-fifths of the housing units in the United States are detached single-family homes, and about two-thirds are owner-occupied. Most houses are constructed of wood, and many are covered with shingles or brick veneer. The housing stock is relatively modern; nearly one-third of all units have been constructed since 1980, while about one-fifth of units were built prior to 1940. The average home is relatively large, with more than two-thirds of homes consisting of five or more rooms.

Housing has long been considered a private rather than a public concern. The growth of urban slums, however, led many municipal governments to enact stricter building codes and sanitary regulations. In 1934 the Federal Housing Administration was established to make loans to institutions that would build low-rent dwellings. However, efforts to reduce slums in large cities by developing low-cost housing in other areas were frequently resisted by local residents who feared a subsequent decline in property values. For many years the restrictive covenant, by which property owners pledged not to sell to certain racial or religious groups, served to bar those groups from many communities. In 1948 the Supreme Court declared such covenants unenforceable, and in 1962 Pres. John F. Kennedy issued an executive order prohibiting discrimination in housing built with federal aid. Since that time many states and cities have adopted fair-housing laws and set up fair-housing commissions. Nevertheless, there are considerable racial disparities in home ownership; about three-fourths of whites but only about half of Hispanics and African Americans own their housing units.

During the 1950s and ’60s large high-rise public housing units were built for low-income families in many large U.S. cities, but these often became centres of crime and unemployment, and minority groups and the poor continued to live in segregated urban ghettos. During the 1990s and the early 21st century, efforts were made to demolish many of the housing projects and to replace them with joint public-private housing communities that would include varying income levels.

Education

The interplay of local, state, and national programs and policies is particularly evident in education. Historically, education has been considered the province of the state and local governments. Of the approximately 4,000 colleges and universities (including branch campuses), the academies of the armed services are among the few federal institutions. (The federal government also administers, among others, the University of the Virgin Islands.) However, since 1862—when public lands were granted to the states to sell to fund the establishment of colleges of agricultural and mechanical arts, called land-grant colleges—the federal government has been involved in education at all levels. Additionally, the federal government supports school lunch programs, administers American Indian education, makes research grants to universities, underwrites loans to college students, and finances education for veterans. It has been widely debated whether the government should also give assistance to private and parochial (religious) schools or tax deductions to parents choosing to send their children to such schools. Although the Supreme Court has ruled that direct assistance to parochial schools is barred by the Constitution’s First Amendment—which states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion”—it has allowed the provision of textbooks and so-called supplementary educational centres on the grounds that their primary purpose is educative rather than religious.

Public secondary and elementary education is free and provided primarily by local government. Education is compulsory, generally from age 7 through 16, though the age requirements vary somewhat among the states. The literacy rate exceeds 95 percent. In order to address the educational needs of a complex society, governments at all levels have pursued diverse strategies, including preschool programs, classes in the community, summer and night schools, additional facilities for exceptional children, and programs aimed at culturally deprived and disaffected students.

Although primary responsibility for elementary education rests with local government, it is increasingly affected by state and national policies. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, for example, required federal agencies to discontinue financial aid to school districts that were not racially integrated, and in Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg County (North Carolina) Board of Education (1971) the Supreme Court mandated busing to achieve racially integrated schools, a remedy that often required long commutes for African American children living in largely segregated enclaves. In the late 20th and the early 21st century, busing remained a controversial political issue, and many localities (including Charlotte) ended their busing programs or had them terminated by federal judges. In addition, the No Child Left Behind Act, enacted in 2002, increased the federal role in elementary and secondary education by requiring states to implement standards of accountability for public elementary and secondary schools.

Political Parties in the United States

While the Democratic Party and Republican Party are the bigwigs of American politics, there do exist other small political parties in the United States which are active as of today.

While the Democratic Party and Republican Party are the bigwigs of American politics, there do exist other small political parties in the United States which are active as of today.

In the United States, the political stage has been dominated by the two-party system right from the era of Federalists versus Jeffersonian Republicans to the ongoing era of Democrats versus Republicans. However, these are not the only parties in the country. American politics is also characterized by the presence of small political parties, which are not in contention for the Presidential elections and thus, are unknown for most of the world. Instead, they field candidates for Congressional and/or state-level offices of the US administration.

American Political Parties Over the Years

The Federalist Party and Democratic-Republican Party were the first two major parties in the American history. The Era of Good Feelings (1816 – 1824) marked the end of the first political system. The second party system began with the modern Democratic Party and Whig Party at loggerheads in the first half of 19th century. The decline of the Whig Party and emergence of the Republican Party marked the beginning of third party system in the second half of the 19th century. The fourth party system, which is referred to as the Progressive Era, was dominated by the Republicans with a brief stint for the Democrats. In fourth party system, the central issues were different from what they were in the third party system. The fifth party system, the one that we follow today, was formed as a result of the New Deal coalition with the Democrats and Republicans at loggerheads in 1933.

Political Parties in the United States Today

As of today, the two major parties in the US political arena are the Democratic Party and Republican Party. Even though various other parties have achieved minor representation at the state as well as national level, it’s the two major political parties which have been in control of the US Congress since 1856. Given below are the details of these two and other political entities in the United States as of today.

The Democratic Party (Democrats)

The modern Democratic Party was founded in 1828 from factions of the Democratic-Republican Party. Its ideology is largely based on American liberalism and progressivism. In the US political spectrum, the Democratic Party is considered a center-left party. It is the oldest political party in the United States and also, one of the oldest in the world. As of today, this party has given the United States 15 US Presidents, including President Barack Obama. Other Democrats in the list include Woodrow Wilson (1913 – 1921), Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933 – 1945), Harry Truman (1945 – 1953), etc.

The Republican Party (Republicans)

The Republican Party, also referred to as the Grand Old Party (GOP), was founded by anti-slavery activists, modernizers, and ex-Whigs in 1854. In the US political spectrum, the Republican ideology is typically characterized by American conservatism, social conservatism, and economic liberalism. The Republican Party first came to power within six years of its inception in 1860, under the leadership of President Abraham Lincoln. The last Republican to become the US President was President George W. Bush (Jr.), who served as the president for two consecutive terms. Other Republicans featuring in this list include Theodore Roosevelt (1901 – 1909), Dwight Eisenhower (1953 – 1961), Ronald Reagan (1981 – 1989), etc.

Other Political Parties in the US

Other political parties with a significant role to play in the American politics include the Constitution Party (1992), Libertarian Party (1971), and the Green Party (1980s.) The third largest party in terms of registered voters, the Constitution Party follows the ideology of American nationalism and National conservatism. The Libertarian Party ideology is based on libertarianism and non-interventionism, while that of the Green Party is based on green politics. Other than these, there are other small parties, which do not run for the Presidential polls, but do contest for other offices of the US administration.

As of 2004, the Democratic Party had the largest number of registered voters (72 million), followed by the Republican Party (55 million). The landslide victory for President Barack Obama in the 2008 polls gave the Democrats an edge. Whether they will be able to hold on to it, is something that only time will tell.

Political parties in the United States

This article presents the historical development and role of political parties in United States politics, and outlines more extensively the significant modern political parties. Throughout most of its history, American politics have been dominated by a two-party system. However, the United States Constitution has always been silent on the issue of political parties; at the time it was signed in 1787, there were no parties in the nation. Nevertheless, parties soon emerged to help mobilize supporters.

Political scientists and historians have divided the development of America’s two-party system into five eras. The modern two-party system consists of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. In general, the Democratic Party currently positions itself left-of-center in American politics while the Republican Party positions itself as right-of-center.

Several third parties also operate in the United States, and from time to time achieve relatively minor representation at the national and state levels.

Contents

History

The United States Constitution has never formally addressed the issue of political parties. The Founding Fathers did not originally intend for American politics to be partisan. In Federalist Papers No. 9 and No. 10, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, respectively, wrote specifically about the dangers of domestic political factions. In addition, the first President of the United States, George Washington, was not a member of any political party at the time of his election or throughout his tenure as president. Furthermore, he hoped that political parties would not be formed, fearing conflict and stagnation. [ 1 ] Nevertheless, the beginnings of the American two-party system emerged from his immediate circle of advisers, including Hamilton and Madison.

First Party System

The First Party System of The United States featured the Federalist Party and the Democratic-Republican Party. The Federalist Party grew from Washington’s Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, who favored a strong united central government. The Democratic-Republican Party was founded by James Madison and by Washington’s Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson, who strongly opposed Hamilton’s agenda.

The Era of Good Feelings (1816–1824), marked the end of the First Party System. Political consequences of Federalist opposition to the War of 1812 as well as other factors, first reduced the Federalist Party to merely local significance, and ultimately to total disappearance. The Era of Good Feelings thus marked a brief period in which only one party, the Democratic-Republican party, was significant at the Federal level.

Second Party System

In 1828, The Second Party System saw a split of the Democratic-Republican Party into the Jacksonian Democrats, who grew into the modern Democratic Party, led by Andrew Jackson, and the Whig Party, led by Henry Clay. The Democrats supported the primacy of the Presidency over the other branches of government, and opposed the Bank of the United States as well as modernizing programs that they felt would build up industry at the expense of the taxpayer. The Whigs, on the other hand, advocated the primacy of Congress over the executive branch as well as policies of modernization and economic protectionism. Central political battles of this era were the Bank War and the Spoils system of federal patronage.

The 1850s saw the collapse of the Whig party, largely as a result of deaths in its leadership and a major intra-party split over slavery as a result of the Compromise of 1850. In addition, the fading of old economic issues removed many of the unifying forces holding the party together.

Third Party System

The Third Party System stretched from 1854 to the mid 1890s, and was characterized by the emergence of the anti-slavery Republican Party, which adopted many of the economic policies of the Whigs, such as national banks, railroads, high tariffs, homesteads and aid to land grant colleges.

Fourth Party System

The Fourth Party System, 1896 to 1932, retained the same primary parties as the Third Party System, but saw major shifts in the central issues of debate. This period also corresponded to the Progressive Era, and was dominated by the Republican Party.

Fifth Party System

The Fifth Party System emerged with the New Deal Coalition beginning in 1933.

Modern U.S. political party system

The modern political party system in the United States is a two-party system dominated by the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. These two parties have won every United States presidential election since 1852 and have controlled the United States Congress since at least 1856. Several other third parties from time to time achieve relatively minor representation at the national and state levels.

Democratic Party

The Democratic Party is one of two major political parties in the United States. It is the oldest political party in the United States and among the oldest in the world. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ]

The Democratic Party, since the division of the Republican Party in the election of 1912, has consistently positioned itself to the left of the Republican Party in economic as well as social matters. The economically left-leaning philosophy of Franklin D. Roosevelt, which has strongly influenced American liberalism, has shaped much of the party’s economic agenda since 1932. Roosevelt’s New Deal coalition usually controlled the national government until the 1970s.

In 2004, it was the largest political party, with 72 million voters (42.6% of 169 million registered) claiming affiliation. [ 5 ] The president of the United States, Barack Obama, is the 15th Democrat to hold the office, and since the 2006 midterm elections, the Democratic Party is the majority party for the United States Senate.

Republican Party

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States of America. It is often referred to as the Grand Old Party, GOP, and «Gallant Old Party». Founded in 1854 by anti-slavery expansion activists and modernizers, the Republican Party rose to prominence with the election of Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican president. The party presided over the American Civil War and Reconstruction but was harried by internal factions and scandals toward the end of the 19th century. Today, the Republican Party supports an American conservative platform, with further foundations in economic liberalism, fiscal conservatism, and social conservatism.

Former President George W. Bush is the 19th Republican to hold that office. The party’s nominee for President of the United States in the 2008 presidential election was Senator John McCain of Arizona. It is currently the second largest party with 55 million registered members, encompassing roughly one third of the electorate. [ 5 ] Since the 2010 midterm elections, the Republicans have held a majority in the United States House of Representatives.

Major Third Parties

Constitution Party

The Constitution Party is a conservative United States political party. It was founded as the U.S. Taxpayers Party in 1992. The party’s official name was changed to the Constitution Party in 1999; however, some state affiliate parties are known under different names.

According to ballot access expert Richard Winger, the editor of Ballot Access News, who periodically compiles and analyzes voter registration statistics as reported by state voter agencies, it ranks third nationally amongst all United States political parties in registered voters, with 438,222 registered members as of October 2008. [ 6 ] This makes it currently the largest third party in the United States.

The Constitution Party advocates a platform that they believe reflects the Founding Fathers’ original intent of the U.S. Constitution, principles found in the U.S. Declaration of Independence, and morals taken from the Bible. [ 7 ]

In 2006, Rick Jore of Montana became the first Constitution Party candidate elected to a state-level office, [ 8 ] [ 9 ] though the Constitution Party of Montana had disaffiliated itself from the national party a short time before the election.

The Constitution Party’s 2008 presidential nominee was Chuck Baldwin.

Green Party

In the United States, the Green Party has been active as a third party since the 1980s. The party first gained widespread public attention during Ralph Nader’s second presidential run in 2000. Currently, the primary national Green Party organization in the U.S. is the Green Party of the United States, which has eclipsed the earlier Greens/Green Party USA.

The Green Party in the United States has won elected office mostly at the local level; most winners of public office in the United States who are considered Greens have won nonpartisan-ballot elections (that is, elections in which the candidates’ party affiliations were not printed on the ballot. [ 10 ] In 2005, the Party had 305,000 registered members in states that allow party registration. [ 11 ] During the 2006 elections the party had ballot access in 31 states. [ 12 ]

The 2008 Green Party presidential nominee was Cynthia McKinney.

Libertarian Party

The Libertarian Party was founded on December 11, 1971. [ 13 ] It is one of the largest continuing third parties in the United States, claiming more than 200,000 registered voters and more than 600 people in public office, [ 14 ] including mayors, county executives, county-council members, school-board members, and other local officials. It has more people in office than all other minor parties combined. [ 14 ]

The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects that group’s particular brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration across borders, and non-interventionism in foreign policy that respects freedom of trade and travel to all foreign countries.

The 2008 Libertarian Party nominee for United States President was Bob Barr.

Political parties in the United States

This article presents the historical development and role of political parties in United States politics, and outlines more extensively the significant modern political parties. Throughout most of its history, American politics have been dominated by a two-party system. However, the United States Constitution has always been silent on the issue of political parties; at the time it was signed in 1787, there were no parties in the nation. Indeed, no nation in the world had voter-based political parties. The need to win popular support in a republic led to the American invention of voter-based political parties in the 1790s. [1] Americans were especially innovative in devising new campaign techniques that linked public opinion with public policy through the party. [2]

Political scientists and historians have divided the development of America’s two-party system into five eras. [3] The modern two-party system consists of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. Several third parties also operate in the U.S., and from time to time elect someone to local office. [4] The largest third party since the 1980s is the Libertarian Party.

Contents

Modern U.S. political party system

The modern political party system in the U.S. is a two-party system dominated by the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. These two parties have won every United States presidential election since 1852 and have controlled the United States Congress to some extent since at least 1856.

Democratic Party

The Democratic Party is one of two major political parties in the U.S. Founded in 1828 by Andrew Jackson, it is the oldest extant voter-based political party in the world. [5] [6] Since 1854, American politics has largely been the story of the battle of the Democrats versus their closely matched adversary, the Republican Party.

The Democratic Party at its founding supported a different set of issues than it presently supports. From its founding until the New Deal Era, the Democratic Party was generally a classically liberal or libertarian party; it favored small government and states’ rights. From its founding until the mid-20th century, the Democratic Party was the dominant party among white Southerners, and as such, was then the party most associated with the defense of slavery. However, following the Great Society under Lyndon B. Johnson, the Democratic Party became the more progressive party on issues of social justice, while conceding dominance in the Southern states to the Republicans.

The Democratic Party since 1912 has positioned itself as the liberal party on domestic issues. The economic philosophy of Franklin D. Roosevelt, which has strongly influenced modern American liberalism, has shaped much of the party’s agenda since 1932. Roosevelt’s New Deal coalition controlled the White House until 1968 with the exception of Eisenhower 1953–1961. Since the mid-20th century, Democrats have generally been in the center-left and currently support social justice, social liberalism, a mixed economy, and the welfare state. Democrats are currently strongest on the East and West Coasts and in major American urban centers. African-Americans and Latinos tend to be disproportionately Democratic, as do trade unions.

In 2004, it was the largest political party, with 72 million registered voters (42.6% of 169 million registered) claiming affiliation. [7] The president of the United States, Barack Obama, is the 15th Democrat to hold the office, and from the 2006 midterm elections until the 2014 midterm elections, the Democratic Party was the majority party in the United States Senate.

A 2011 USA Today review of state voter rolls indicates that registered Democrats declined in 25 of 28 states (some states do not register voters by party). Democrats were still the largest political party with more than 42 million voters (compared with 30 million Republicans and 24 million independents). But in 2011 Democrats numbers shrank 800,000, and from 2008 they were down by 1.7 million, or 3.9%. [8]

Republican Party

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States of America. Since the 1880s it has been nicknamed (by the media) the «Grand Old Party» or GOP, although it is younger than the Democratic Party.

Founded in 1854 by Northern anti-slavery activists and modernizers, the Republican Party rose to prominence in 1860 with the election of Abraham Lincoln, who used the party machinery to support victory in the American Civil War. The GOP dominated national politics during the Third Party System, from 1854 to 1896, and the Fourth Party System from 1896 to 1932.

Since its founding, the Republican Party has been the more corporatist of the two American political parties, often favoring policies that aid large American corporate interests. As a party whose power was once based on the voting clout of Union Army veterans, this party has traditionally supported more aggressive defense measures and more lavish veteran’s benefits. Though initially founded to oppose slavery, following Richard Nixon’s «Southern Strategy» in 1968, the Republican Party has becoming the more regressive party in areas of racial and social justice. Today, the Republican Party supports an American conservative platform, with further foundations in economic liberalism, fiscal conservatism, and social conservatism. The Republican Party tends to be strongest in the Southern United States and the «flyover states», as well as suburban and rural areas in other states. One significant base of support for the Republican Party are Evangelical Christians, who have wielded significant clout in the party since the early 1970s.

Former President George W. Bush is the 19th and most recent Republican to hold that office. The party’s nominee for President of the United States in the 2012 presidential election was Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts. Since the 2010 midterm elections, the Republicans have held a majority in the United States House of Representatives, and since 2014, the Senate.

Major third parties

Green Party

In the United States, the Green Party has been active as a third party since the 1980s. The party first gained widespread public attention during Ralph Nader’s second presidential run in 2000. Currently, the primary national Green Party organization in the U.S. is the Green Party of the United States, which has eclipsed the earlier Greens/Green Party USA.

The Green Party in the United States has won elected office mostly at the local level; most winners of public office in the United States who are considered Greens have won nonpartisan-ballot elections (that is, elections in which the candidates’ party affiliations were not printed on the ballot). [9] In 2005, the Party had 305,000 registered members in the District of Columbia and 20 states that allow party registration. [10] During the 2006 elections the party had ballot access in 31 states. [11]

Libertarian Party

The Libertarian Party was founded on December 11, 1971. [12] It is one of the largest continuing third parties in the United States, claiming more than 331,000 registered voters. [13] They currently have about 144 elected officials, more than any of the other minor parties. [14]

The 2012 Libertarian Party nominee for United States President was former New Mexico governor, Gary Johnson. He achieved ballot access in every state except for Michigan (only as a write-in candidate) and Oklahoma. He received over one million votes in the election, the highest for any candidate since the founding of the party in 1971.

The Libertarian Party’s core mission is to reduce the size, influence and expenditures of all levels of government. To this effect, the party supports minimally regulated markets, a less powerful federal government, strong civil liberties, drug liberalization, separation of church and state, open immigration, non-interventionism and neutrality in diplomatic relations, free trade and free movement to all foreign countries, and a more representative republic. [15]

Constitution Party

The Constitution Party is a national political party in the United States. It was founded as the U.S. Taxpayers Party in 1992. The party’s official name was changed to the Constitution Party in 1999; however, some state affiliate parties are known under different names.

The Constitution Party advocates a platform that they believe reflects the Founding Fathers’ original intent of the U.S. Constitution, principles found in the U.S. Declaration of Independence, and morals taken from the Bible. [16]

In 2006, Rick Jore of Montana became the first Constitution Party candidate elected to a state-level office, [17] [18] though the Constitution Party of Montana had disaffiliated itself from the national party a short time before the election.

The Constitution Party’s 2012 presidential nominee was Virgil Goode.

Other parties

Besides the Constitution, Green and Libertarian parties, there are many other political parties that receive only minimal support and only appear on the ballot in one or a few states.

Independents

Some political candidates, and many voters, choose not to identify with a particular political party. In some states, independents are not allowed to vote in primary elections, but in others, they can vote in any primary election of their choice. Independents can be of any political persuasion, but the term most commonly refers to politicians or voters who hold centrist views that incorporate facets of both Democratic and Republican ideology.

Party comparisons

The following table lists some political ideologies most often associated with the five U.S. political parties with the most members, as well the tendencies of the official party positions on a number of reformist issues where positions diverge. Nuances may be found in the parties’ respective platforms. Because American political parties are more loosely organized than those in other countries, not all members of a party subscribe to all of its officially held positions, the usual degree of variation generally being higher for the larger parties. Party members may hold different views on legislation to be enacted at the state or federal levels. And elected officials once in office may act contradictory to many of his or her party’s positions (this had led to terms such as «Republican In Name Only»). Furthermore, the modern American political spectrum, and the usage of left–right politics, differs from the rest of the world. For example, the Democratic Party, the primary left-of-center party in the country, generally supports a social liberal position rather than a social democratic one.

* The top issues in the country are selected for this table.

History

The United States Constitution has never formally addressed the issue of political parties. The Founding Fathers did not originally intend for American politics to be partisan. In Federalist Papers No. 9 and No. 10, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, respectively, wrote specifically about the dangers of domestic political factions. In addition, the first President of the United States, George Washington, was not a member of any political party at the time of his election or throughout his tenure as president. Furthermore, he hoped that political parties would not be formed, fearing conflict and stagnation, as outlined in his Farewell Address. [45] Nevertheless, the beginnings of the American two-party system emerged from his immediate circle of advisers. Hamilton and Madison, who wrote the aforementioned Federalist Papers against political factions, ended up being the core leaders in this emerging party system. It was the split camps of Federalists, given rise with Hamilton as a leader, and Democratic-Republicans, with Madison and Thomas Jefferson helming this political faction, that created the environment in which partisanship, once distasteful, came to being. [46] [47]

First Party System: 1792–1824

The First Party System of the United States featured the Federalist Party and the Democratic-Republican Party (Anti-Federalist). The Federalist Party grew from Washington’s Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, who favored a strong united central government, close ties to Britain, a centralized banking system, and close links between the government and men of wealth. The Democratic-Republican Party was founded by James Madison and by Washington’s Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson, who strongly opposed Hamilton’s agenda. [48] Both parties had newspapers favoring them, with the Federalist paper being the Gazette of the United States and the Democratic-Republican paper being the National Gazette.

The Era of Good Feelings (1816–1824), marked the end of the First Party System. The elitism of the Federalists had diminished their appeal, and their refusal to support the War of 1812 verged on secession and was a devastating blow when the war ended well. The Era of Good Feelings under President James Monroe (1816–24) marked a brief period in which partisanship was minimal. [49] These good feelings inspired the first short-lived «era of internal improvements» from the 18th through the 25th Congress, which ended with the panic of 1837. [50]

Second Party System: 1828–1854

In 1829, the Second Party System saw a split of the Democratic-Republican Party into the Jacksonian Democrats, who grew into the modern Democratic Party, led by Andrew Jackson, and the Whig Party, led by Henry Clay. The Democrats supported the primacy of the Presidency over the other branches of government, and opposed the Bank of the United States as well as modernizing programs that they felt would build up industry at the expense of the taxpayer. The Whigs, on the other hand, advocated the primacy of Congress over the executive branch as well as policies of modernization and economic protectionism. Central political battles of this era were the Bank War and the Spoils system of federal patronage.

The 1850s saw the collapse of the Whig party, largely as a result of deaths in its leadership and a major intra-party split over slavery as a result of the Compromise of 1850. In addition, the fading of old economic issues removed many of the unifying forces holding the party together.

Third Party System: 1854-1890s

The Third Party System stretched from 1854 to the mid-1890s, and was characterized by the emergence of the anti-slavery Republican Party, which adopted many of the economic policies of the Whigs, such as national banks, railroads, high tariffs, homesteads and aid to land grant colleges. Civil war and Reconstruction issues polarized the parties until the Compromise of 1877, which ended the latter. Thus, both parties became broad-based voting coalitions. The race issue pulled newly enfranchised African Americans (Freedmen) into the Republican party while white southerners (Redeemers) joined the Democratic Party. The Democratic coalition also had conservative pro-business Bourbon Democrats, traditional Democrats in the North (many of them former Copperheads), and Catholic immigrants, among others. The Republican coalition also consisted of businessmen, shop owners, skilled craftsmen, clerks and professionals who were attracted to the party’s modernization policies.

Fourth Party System: 1896–1932

The Fourth Party System, 1896 to 1932, retained the same primary parties as the Third Party System, but saw major shifts in the central issues of debate. This period also corresponded to the Progressive Era, and was dominated by the Republican Party. It began after the Republicans blamed the Democrats for the Panic of 1893, which later resulted in William McKinley’s victory over William Jennings Bryan in the 1896 presidential election. The central domestic issues changed to government regulation of railroads and large corporations («trusts»), the protective tariff, the role of labor unions, child labor, the need for a new banking system, corruption in party politics, primary elections, direct election of senators, racial segregation, efficiency in government, women’s suffrage, and control of immigration. Most voting blocs continued unchanged, but some realignment took place, giving Republicans dominance in the industrial Northeast and new strength in the border states. Historians [ who? ] have long debated why no Labor Party emerged in the United States, in contrast to Western Europe. [51]

Fifth and Sixth Party Systems: 1933-present

The Fifth Party System emerged with the New Deal Coalition beginning in 1933. [52] The Republicans began losing support after the Great Depression, giving rise to Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the activist New Deal. They promoted American Liberalism, anchored in a coalition of specific liberal groups, especially ethno-religious constituencies (Catholics, Jews, African Americans), white Southerners, well-organized labor unions, urban machines, progressive intellectuals, and populist farm groups. Opposition Republicans were split between a conservative wing, led by Ohio Senator Robert A. Taft, and a more successful moderate wing exemplified by the politics of Northeastern leaders such as Nelson Rockefeller, Jacob Javits, and Henry Cabot Lodge. The latter steadily lost influence inside the GOP after 1964. [53]

Experts debate whether this era ended (and a Sixth Party System subsequently emerged) in the mid-1960s when the New Deal coalition died, the early 1980s when the Moral Majority and the Reagan coalition were formed, the early 1990s when Third Way emerged among Democrats, the mid-1990s during the Republican Revolution, or if the Fifth system continues in some form to the present. Since the 1930s, the Democrats positioned themselves more towards Liberalism while the Conservatives increasingly dominated the GOP. [54] But new voter coalitions emerged during the latter half of the 20th Century, with Conservatives and the Republicans becoming dominant in the South, rural areas, and suburbs; while Liberals and the Democrats increasingly started to rely on a coalition of African-Americans, Hispanics and white urban Progressives.

Minor parties and independents

Although American politics have been dominated by the two-party system, several other political parties have also emerged throughout the country’s history. The oldest third party was the Anti-Masonic Party and was formed in upstate New York in 1828; the party’s creators feared the Freemasons, believing they were a powerful secret society that was trying to rule the country in defiance of republican principles. [55]

Despite the large influence of political parties, a number of political candidates and voters refer to themselves as independents and choose not to identify with any particular political party at all. Several state governors and congressmen such as Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders have officially run as independents.

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The Democrats and the Republicans

The two-party system and the two major parties

The electoral system in the U.S. is called a two-party system. That means that two parties dominate the political field in all three levels of government. In the U.S. these two parties are the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. Other parties, often generally termed “third parties”, in the U.S. include The Green Party, Libertarians, Constitution Party and Natural Law Party.

In the U.S., political candidates do not have to get the majority of votes – that is, more than 50% of votes – to be elected. Instead, candidates need a plurality of votes – that is, a higher percentage of votes than other candidates running for office. Since the Democratic and Republican Parties are the two largest parties in the U.S., candidates from these two parties tend to get the plurality of votes. Therefore, other smaller parties are often left unsuccessful in elections. Americans whose political values closely align with candidates from one of the third parties might therefore instead choose to vote for either the Democratic or the Republican Party. They do this to ensure that their vote is used on a candidate who has a better chance of winning. This keeps the two-party-system in effect.

One advantage of having a two-party system is that it helps ensure that the two main parties in power have a wide platform that represents the general public. Because the two parties are so large, there is room for a wide range of political positions within each party. This means that there may exist slightly varying political viewpoints on different matters within each party.

A broad political spectrum

Now, try to imagine a spectrum that says “liberal” or “progressive” in one end and “conservative” or “traditional” in the other. This spectrum represents a political party. This party’s representatives may be placed anywhere along the line, depending on how their political views fit within their party’s general policy. This is a simplified way of illustrating the wide scope of political opinions that both the Democratic and Republican Parties embrace.

In the following, we are going to investigate the general policies of the two parties. However, in the light of the above, it is important to keep in mind that there are nuances within each party’s policies. Thus, the below merely provides a general description of the parties’ political stances.

The Republican Party – General policy and political values

One main standpoint of the Republican Party platform is a strong focus on the family and individual freedom. Generally, the Republican Party therefore often tends to promote states’ and local rights. That means that they often wish for federal regulations to play a lesser role in policymaking. Furthermore, the GOP has a pro-business-oriented platform. Thus, the party advocates for businesses to exist in a free market instead of being impacted by tight government regulations.

As mentioned above, Republican members and candidates’ stances towards particular issues may vary. Overall, however, the party is a proponent of religious freedom. Moreover, the GOP is generally “pro-life”, thereby opposing the legal right to free abortion and instead emphasizing unborn fetuses’ right to live. Furthermore, the party is generally against introducing an extensive gun control legislation, and thus Republicans safeguard the right to bear arms as articulated in the Second Amendment of the U.S. constitution. Additionally, the party values a powerful national defense and a strong military in order to provide increased security and peace.

The Democratic Party – General policy and political values