Political Parties And The American Political System

Arman Esmaili — Period 4 Today, there exists the rift in the American political system marked by the ongoing clash between our political parties: the Republicans and the Democrats. These parties’ dissenting ideas seem to create non-stop conflict as each party relentlessly competes for the support and votes of the American people. However, over two hundred years ago in the early days of our country’s government, political parties did not even exist. Early leaders, such as the revered George Washington, feared that political parties would split our country into warring factions that would not only subvert our delicate notion of patriotism, but also weaken public support for the new Constitution. Nonetheless, despite opposition by Washington and others, political parties began to form, and over the years have developed into the familiar political system we have today. The chief factors that led to the rise of political parties were the disagreements between influent ial politicians over the structure of the government, the proper interpretation of the Constitution, and foreign policy regarding European nations. One of the great disputes surrounding the development of the United States Constitution was centered around the distribution of power between the federal government and the individual state governments. In 1790, Jefferson wrote, ...Hamilton was not only a monarchist, but [in support] of a monarchy [based upon] corruption (Document 1). This excerpt clearly shows theShow MoreRelatedThe American Two Party Political System Essay1285 Words   |  6 PagesThe American Two Party Political System Since the administration of George Washington two political parties have dominated the United States political system, but they have not always been the same two parties. The first two parties were the Federalists and Anti-Federalists. 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