Essay On America's Two Party System

Words: 441
Pages: 2

Although the Founders of the Constitution initially opposed the development of political parties, America’s two-party system gives citizens the opportunity to have direct control of the government and it promotes constitutional principles. The opposition came from the 18th century belief that all political systems should not be trusted. The Founders felt that parties were evil and should be done away with. In fact, James Madison, one of the authors of the “Federalists Papers,” believed that political systems were corrupt, but unavoidable in a free society. According to Madison, the only way to deal with parties was not to hinder their powers, but keep them in check (Sowards 1). In order to get a better understanding of why the Founders disliked America’s two party system, it is important to have background information about political parties. A two party system is a government that is controlled by two parties. Historically, the Democrats and Republicans have thrived and dominated all other political parties. (Reed 1). The Democrats and Republicans have many differences. Each party, and the voters that represent them (constituents), is defined by certain characteristics. A plethora of information is available regarding voting behavior. Various sociological and …show more content…
Resulting from of the Democratic-Republicans, the party was mostly composed of farmers, immigrants and white southerners (Democratic Party 1). One major distinction between the two parties is that Democrats tend to desire more social programs and a larger federal government involvement (McClenaghan 122). African-Americans have been vast supporters of the Democratic Party for several decades (McClenaghan 170). In addition to African-Americans, other minorities, blue collar workers, women and people that earn low income tend to value the principles and agenda of the Democratic party (McClenaghan