Political parties in the United States

For complete list, see List of political parties in the United States.

United States

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This article presents the historical development and role of political parties in United States politics, and outlines more extensively the significant modern political parties. Throughout most of its history, American politics have been dominated by a two-party system. However, the United States Constitution has always been silent on the issue of political parties; at the time it was signed in 1787, there were no parties in the nation. Indeed, no nation in the world had voter-based political parties. The need to win popular support in a republic led to the formation of political parties in the 1790s. Americans were especially innovative in devising new campaign techniques that linked public opinion with public policy through the party.

Political scientists and historians have divided the development of America's two-party system into five eras. The modern two-party system consists of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. In general, since the 1930s the Democratic Party positions itself left-of-center in American politics while the Republican Party positions itself as right-of-center.

Several third parties also operate in the United States, and from time to time achieve relatively minor representation at the national and state levels.

History

The United States Constitution has never formally addressed the issue of political parties. The Founding Fathers did not originally intend for American politics to be partisan. In Federalist Papers No. 9 and No. 10, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, respectively, wrote specifically about the dangers of domestic political factions. In addition, the first President of the United States, George Washington, was not a member of any political party at the time of his election or throughout his tenure as president. Furthermore, he hoped that political parties would not be formed, fearing conflict and stagnation. Nevertheless, the beginnings of the American two-party system emerged from his immediate circle of advisers, including Hamilton and Madison.

First Party System

Main article: First Party System

The First Party System of The United States featured the Federalist Party and the Democratic-Republican Party. The Federalist Party grew from Washington's Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, who favored a strong united central government, close ties to Britain, an effective banking system, and close links between the government and men of wealth. The Democratic-Republican Party was founded by James Madison and by Washington's Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson, who strongly opposed Hamilton's agenda.

The Era of Good Feelings (1816–1824), marked the end of the First Party System. The elitism of the Federalists had diminished their appeal, and their refusal to support the War of 1812 verged on secession and was a devastating blow when the war ended well. The Era of Good Feelings under President James Monroe (1816-24) marked a brief period in which partisanship was minimal. These good feelings inspired the first short-lived "era of internal improvements" from the 18th through the 25th Congress, which ended with the panic of 1837.

Second Party System

Main article: Second Party System

In 1828, The Second Party System saw a split of the Democratic-Republican Party into the Jacksonian Democrats, who grew into the modern Democratic Party, led by Andrew Jackson, and the Whig Party, led by Henry Clay. The Democrats supported the primacy of the Presidency over the other branches of government, and opposed the Bank of the United States as well as modernizing programs that they felt would build up industry at the expense of the taxpayer. The Whigs, on the other hand, advocated the primacy of Congress over the executive branch as well as policies of modernization and economic protectionism. Central political battles of this era were the Bank War and the Spoils system of federal patronage.

The 1850s saw the collapse of the Whig party, largely as a result of deaths in its leadership and a major intra-party split over slavery as a result of the Compromise of 1850. In addition, the fading of old economic issues removed many of the unifying forces holding the party together.

Third Party System

Main article: Third Party System

The Third Party System stretched from 1854 to the mid 1890s, and was characterized by the emergence of the anti-slavery Republican Party, which adopted many of the economic policies of the Whigs, such as national banks, railroads, high tariffs, homesteads and aid to land grant colleges.

Fourth Party System

Main article: Fourth Party System

The Fourth Party System, 1896 to 1932, retained the same primary parties as the Third Party System, but saw major shifts in the central issues of debate. This period also corresponded to the Progressive Era, and was dominated by the Republican Party.

Fifth Party System

Main article: Fifth Party System

The Fifth Party System emerged with the New Deal Coalition beginning in 1933.

Modern U.S. political party system

The modern political party system in the United States is a two-party system dominated by the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. These two parties have won every United States presidential election since 1852 and have controlled the United States Congress since at least 1856. Several other third parties from time to time achieve relatively minor representation at the national and state levels.

Democratic Party

Main article: Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major political parties in the United States. It is the oldest political party in the United States and among the oldest in the world.

The Democratic Party, since the division of the Republican Party in the election of 1912, has consistently positioned itself to the left of the Republican Party in economic as well as social matters. The economically left-leaning philosophy of Franklin D. Roosevelt, which has strongly influenced American liberalism, has shaped much of the party's economic agenda since 1932. Roosevelt's New Deal coalition usually controlled the national government until the 1970s.

In 2004, it was the largest political party, with 72 million voters (42.6% of 169 million registered) claiming affiliation. The president of the United States, Barack Obama, is the 15th Democrat to hold the office, and since the 2006 midterm elections, the Democratic Party is the majority party for the United States Senate.

Republican Party

Main article: Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States of America. It is often referred to as the Grand Old Party, GOP, and "Gallant Old Party". Founded in 1854 by anti-slavery expansion activists and modernizers, the Republican Party rose to prominence with the election of Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican president. The party presided over the American Civil War and Reconstruction but was harried by internal factions and scandals toward the end of the 19th century. Today, the Republican Party supports an American conservative platform, with further foundations in economic liberalism, fiscal conservatism, and social conservatism.

Former President George W. Bush is the 19th Republican to hold that office. The party's nominee for President of the United States in the 2008 presidential election was Senator John McCain of Arizona. It is currently the second largest party with 55 million registered members, encompassing roughly one third of the electorate. Since the 2010 midterm elections, the Republicans have held a majority in the United States House of Representatives.

Major Third Parties

Constitution Party

Main article: Constitution Party (United States)

The Constitution Party is a conservative United States political party. It was founded as the U.S. Taxpayers Party in 1992. The party's official name was changed to the Constitution Party in 1999; however, some state affiliate parties are known under different names.

According to ballot access expert Richard Winger, the editor of Ballot Access News, who periodically compiles and analyzes voter registration statistics as reported by state voter agencies, it ranks third nationally amongst all United States political parties in registered voters, with 438,222 registered members as of October 2008. This makes it currently the largest third party in the United States.

The Constitution Party advocates a platform that they believe reflects the Founding Fathers' original intent of the U.S. Constitution, principles found in the U.S. Declaration of Independence, and morals taken from the Bible.

In 2006, Rick Jore of Montana became the first Constitution Party candidate elected to a state-level office, though the Constitution Party of Montana had disaffiliated itself from the national party a short time before the election.

The Constitution Party's 2008 presidential nominee was Chuck Baldwin.

Green Party

Main article: Green Party (United States)

In the United States, the Green Party has been active as a third party since the 1980s. The party first gained widespread public attention during Ralph Nader's second presidential run in 2000. Currently, the primary national Green Party organization in the U.S. is the Green Party of the United States, which has eclipsed the earlier Greens/Green Party USA.

The Green Party in the United States has won elected office mostly at the local level; most winners of public office in the United States who are considered Greens have won nonpartisan-ballot elections (that is, elections in which the candidates' party affiliations were not printed on the ballot. In 2005, the Party had 305,000 registered members in states that allow party registration. During the 2006 elections the party had ballot access in 31 states.

Greens emphasize environmentalism, non-hierarchical participatory democracy, social justice, respect for diversity, peace and nonviolence.

The 2008 Green Party presidential nominee was Cynthia McKinney.

Libertarian Party

Main article: Libertarian Party (United States)

The Libertarian Party was founded on December 11, 1971. It is one of the largest continuing third parties in the United States, claiming more than 200,000 registered voters and more than 600 people in public office, including mayors, county executives, county-council members, school-board members, and other local officials. It has more people in office than all other minor parties combined.

The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects that group's particular brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration across borders, and non-interventionism in foreign policy that respects freedom of trade and travel to all foreign countries.

The 2008 Libertarian Party nominee for United States President was Bob Barr.

Politics comparison

The following table lists some political ideologies most often associated with the five U.S. political parties with the most members, as well the official party positions on a number of reformist issues where positions diverge. Nuances may be found in the parties' respective platforms. It must be remembered that not all members of a party subscribe to all of its officially held positions, the usual degree of variation generally being higher for the larger parties. Note that party members may hold different views on legislation to be enacted at the state or federal levels.

Comparison of politics of the five United States political parties with the most members

Issue		Green Party	Democratic Party	Libertarian Party	Republican Party	Constitution Party
Primary related ideologies		Social democracy Green politics	American liberalism American progressivism	Libertarianism Classical liberalism	American conservatism Neoconservatism	Paleoconservatism Conservative Libertarianism
Issues framed as changes to the status quo.	Abortion restrictions	No	No	No	Yes	Yes
	Public campaign finance	Yes	No	No	No	No
	Legal same-sex marriage	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
	Universal health care	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
	More progressive taxation	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
	Strengthening Immigration Laws	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
	End capital punishment	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
	Drug liberalization	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
	Civilian gun control	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
	Non-interventionism	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
	Instant-runoff voting	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes