The Roles and Future of Political Parties in America Essay

When George Washington left office, he warned the nation about political parties fearing they were dangerous to the way government should function. Despite his warning, political parties developed and changed American politics forever. By definition, a political party is a group of office holders, candidates, activists, and voters who identify with a group label and seek to elect to public office individuals who run under that label (OConnor and Sabato 437). The creation of political parties can be traced back to the differing views of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton while they served in Washingtons cabinet. Jeffersons Democratic-Republican counterpart today is the Democratic Party while Hamiltons Federalists are similar to†¦show more content†¦Jefferson believed in a strict interpretation of the Constitution while Hamilton believed in its loose interpretation. A classic example of this was the issue of the first US Bank and whether it was constitutional or not. The Era of Good Feelings (1817-1825) resulted in party politics becoming very minute at the national level since most people were assumed to be Democratic-Republicans. In reality though, at the state level parties continued to develop (OConnor and Sabato 438). In addition, by the 1820s all the states except South Carolina began allowing the popular election of electoral college members. This action further increased the importance of attracting people to join a party since it was in the partys best interests to encourage people to join so that respective candidates could win elections (OConnor and Sabato 438). In 1832 the nations first presidential nominating convention was done by the Democratic Party. Unfortunately, this actually weakened the role of political parties since one of the most important duties of a party was to select a presidential candidate. Similarly, direct primaries further weakened the role of political parties. In the 1870s as large numbers of immigrants flooded into the US, parties competed for their support. This resulted in the creation of machines which recruited people (mostly new immigrants) to gain votes inShow MoreRelatedPoltical Factionalism: Dividing the People Essay1556 Words   |  7 PagesPolitical factions have played a fundamental role in shaping governments here and around the world in history and will continue to influence in the future. Factions divide a government based on different beliefs of key issue in policies, such as spending and warfare. Political factions are both beneficial to a society and detrimental. A political party is â€Å"A group organized for the purpose of achieving and exercising power within a political system,† (Gwinn 960). 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