Political Parties in the U.S.

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses how political party development originally met with strong opposition in the United States. The paper then explains that political competition and a need for organization, mobilization and expansion allowed political parties to attain a stronghold in U.S. politics. The paper also shows how changing views of acceptable political culture, generational replacement and the election of 1800 were events that allowed the political community to accept the American political party system and eventually embrace it.

From the Paper:

"Today political parties in the United States play an integral role in political elections, local, state and national. Parties have become a vehicle for exerting the ideas and agenda of large and collective groups of citizens. However, political parties in colonial American and the early Republic were viewed negatively, by both early politicians and philosophers. Even the founding fathers had issues with political parties. Parties were thought to divide Americans. Also, thinkers of the time thought that forming parties would result in spawning a winning side and a losing side in elections, which would further split Americans."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Chambers, William N. and Philip C. Davis. Party Competition and Mass Participation: The Case of the Democritizing Party System 1824-1852. 1978
• Hofstadter, Richard. The Idea of the Party System: the Rise of Legitimate Opposition in the U.S. 1780-1840. 1969

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• Analytical Essay # 120867 : "Third Parties in the U.S."

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