University:
Bradley University
Course:
PLS 301 | Topics in American Politics
Academic year:

2020
Views:

142

Pages:

10
Author:

Gudrunecg9m

The Two-Party System in American History Chapter 5 Section 3 The Nation’s First Parties • Date back to the ratification of the Constitution • The Federalists – Led by Alexander Hamilton – Party of “the rich and well-born” – Stronger National Government and Executive Branch – Appealed to financial, manufacturing, and commercial interests – Believed in a liberal interpretation of the Constitution • The Democratic-Republicans – Party of the “common man” – Limited national government but with Congress being the strongest branch – Strict interpretation of the Constitution – Appealed to the nation’s small shopkeepers, laborers, farmers, and planters – The party was also known as the Anti-Federalists, the Jeffersonian Republicans, and the Jeffersonians – Will eventually evolve into today’s Democratic Party American Parties: Four Major Eras 1. 2. 3. 4. The Era of the Democrats, 1800-1860 The Era of the Republicans, 1860-1932 The Return to the Democrats, 1932-1968 The New Era, 1968-Present The Era of the Democrats • Started with Jefferson’s election in 1800 and lasts until the Civil War • Remain virtually unopposed in elections until the mid 1820’s when the DemocraticRepublicans split (Andrew Jackson) • Jackson’s faction of the Democrats win all but two Presidential Elections • In the 1850’s Democrats split into Northern and Southern factions • The Republican Party forms as a coalition of Whigs and Anti-Slavery Democrats • The Republicans field their first Presidential Candidate in 1856 and elect their first President in 1860 (Abraham Lincoln) The Era of the Republicans • Begins with the Civil War and lasts nearly 75 years • Supported by business and financial interests, farmers, laborers, and African Americans • Democrats controlled the “Solid South” during this era • Only two Democrats elected as President during the era • Republicans popular due to popular acceptance amongst the public and economic prosperity • Lose control of the Presidency due to the Great Depression The Return to the Democrats • Marks a shift in people’s attitudes toward the role of government • New Democratic base consisted of: southerners, small farmers, organized labor, and big-city political machines • One Republican President during the era • Era concludes during the tumultuous 1960s The Star of a New Era • 1968 – Present – Divided Government • No long reigning party control of any branch of government • Voters tend to be less connected to the major political parties today