Analysis of the United States' Two-Party System

Paper Summary:

The paper identifies the two major political parties in the US: Democrats and Republicans. The paper states that the two-party system gives a sense of control and stability to the nation during times of change and that it is a natural result of the United State's election process, a result of parties consolidating to prevent vote splitting. The paper also explains that in this system helps keep a single party from gaining too much power and overwhelming the government. The paper concludes that the two-party system is good for the United States, despite objections to its weaknesses, as it provides stability, a proper medium for a majority's ideas, and an avenue for stable change.

From the Paper:

"The Federalists stood for a stronger central government, and supported removing the rights from the states and returning it to the federal government. Jefferson's Democratic-Republicans supported states' rights. However, though Jefferson believed in the power of the people to lead themselves he still understood the need for a Constitution, so his Democratic-Republican Party did share some traits with the Federalists. These two parties, different in some ways and similar in others, were the original two "major" parties, and offer up the first example of a two-party system in American politics. The important fact was that this happened in a time when the people of the United States were concerned about whether to have a strong, central government like the British they had just won their independence from, or to remain a confederacy of states, relying on each other only because of geographical convenience. This was such a strong issue because many people did not want to have anything to do with the British, and thus the thought of a strong federal government scared them."

Sample of Sources Used:

• "Bull Moose Party." Encyclopedia Britannica. 2008.
• McSweeney, Dean, and John Zvesper. American Political Parties. New York: Routledge, 1991.
• Political Parties. MSN Encarta. 13 Apr. 2008.<http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/RefArticle.aspx?refid=761580668>.
• "U.S. Presidential Election Results." Encyclopedia Britannica. 2008.
• United States. Democratic National Convention Committee, Inc. 2004 Democratic National Platform.

More papers on Analysis of the United States' Two-Party System:

• Essay # 69772 : "The First Bank of the United States"
• Term Paper # 143423 : "Is Canada Too Close An Ally Of The United States?"
• Essay # 23124 : "Political History"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: