Growth Of Democracy And Emergence Of Political Parties In The 19th Century

Also, voters and politicians now nominated candidates, rather than the political party leaders in Congress. This and other events led to a more democratic society.

After Washington became president, people started forming political parties based on how they thought the government should be run. Washington did not like the idea of the country being divided into “factions,” as he called them. But the problem was that this was happening

A government for the people, by the people, requires input from all its citizens. The American experiment is a great success that has inspired others to defend the voices of all its citizens. Yet, this was not always so. In the early years of our great democratic experiment we had reserved those unalienable rights to a select few. We discriminated based on race, gender, and color. Therefore, reformers began calling for changes. The reform movements of 1825-1855 in the U.S helped further develop democratic ideals by creating a new range of voters that were more educated, diverse, and healthy. It accomplished this by advocating towards women's suffrage, abolition, which would lead to African-American suffrage, progression towards a better educational

Political parties themselves began to change as people like Martin Van Buren tried to go back to old political parties (Document C). He thought that the best political combination would unite southern planters and “plain Republicans of the North.” 
Van Buren was part of a group of shrewd politicians called the Albany Regency--With the help of their newspaper, the Albany Argus, they controlled party nominating conventions and political patronage (spoils system) while in office. The Albany Argus is a great example of how newspapers came to be a big part of politics. Seen in Doc G, the number of different newspapers in the United States increased to 1,200, with the number more than tripling between 1810 and 1835. Newspapers were widely distributed, and—after innovations made newspapers affordable—were widely used as a campaign tactic.

Andrew Jackson expanded the political rights and democratic power the common man had. As time went on during and after Andrew Jackson’s presidency more and more people voted in presidential elections. Andrew Jackson created white male suffrage which allowed the common man to participate in government. Until Andrew Jackson’s presidency the common man’s vote wasn't represented in government, so the government was not democratic.“Jacksons victory accelerated the transfer of national power from the country house to the

The First Party System refers to a period between 1792 and the 1820’s when the American political system was divided into two parties. Both parties, the Federalist Party, and the Democratic-Republican Party, wanted control of the Congress, the presidency, and the states. The parties were the result of the differences between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson on how to solve various national problems such as the economic crisis that was threatening the nation at the time (Dickerson, 2004). However, the roots of these political parties and concerns emerged during the constitution ratification process. On one hand, the Federalists supported the constitution while, on the other hand, the Antifederalists (Democratic-Republican) did not support it due to key issues that had not been considered in the new constitution (rAndon HersHey & Beck, 2015).

The parties formed after the Constitution was adopted as the need to systematically search for and encourage popular support became apparent. The structure of a party allows a group of like-minded politicians to mold popular support in the favor of the candidate of their choice where alone they could only accomplish the creation of multiple less organized and therefore less politically potent factions. The nature of the political system already in place gave no value to coming in second or third in elections at any level of government, leading to the natural growth of two strong parties who battle for supremacy at every election (July 22). The winner takes all, and the opposition spends their time getting ready to try again as they wait for their next chance. Once the two parties, Democrat and Republican, were firmly settled in to the system they affected legislation to give themselves automatic ballot access and state funding, making election that much harder for other parties and thereby ensuring that it remained a two party system (July 22).

The democratization of American society that started in 1820s has led to a significant change of relations between government and people. These changes include growing equality of opportunities for white men and possibility for people to influence political processes taking place in the US. While people gained new rights and chances to start another life, government was, on the one hand, set under the growing pressure of society, and on the other hand, could be constructed by people.

American history is filled with ups and downs. Starting out with only 13 colonies, America forcibly removed themselves from the one of the strongest empires in the world. Battling against political reform, the subtraction of resources from the motherland, the debt accrued by colonists, and the bank wars, America struggles to create a self-sustaining country.

"United States can be seen as the first liberal democracy. The United States Constitution, adopted in 1788, provided for an elected government and protected civil rights and liberties. On the American frontier, democracy became a way of life, with widespread social, economic and political equality. The system gradually evolved, from Jeffersonian Democracy or the First Party System to Jacksonian Democracy or the Second Party System and later to the Third Party System. In Reconstruction after the Civil War (late 1860s) the newly freed slaves became citizens, and they were given the vote as well." (Web, 1)

A political party is a group of people who seek to win elections and hold public office in order to shape government policy and programs. George Washington warned the nation against creating political parties in his famous “Farewell Address”. He feared political parties would divide the country and weaken support of the Constitution (Doc 4). The first major political parties, the Federalists and the Republicans, were created during the term of President George Washington. Despite President Washington’s warning, the rise of the two political parties, in the years after his term was inevitable. The Federalists were in favor of a strong central government, while the anti-federalists opposed most their ideas. Over time, the gradual development

One of the primary features of the American politics in the 18th century was the idea of self-rule. As the motherland of Great Britain was all the way across the Atlantic Ocean, it was unable to keep a constant watch over their colonies in the New World. The lack of a British presence, coupled with conflicting ideas on how to run the colonies led the American government to evolve to be able to take care of itself. Colonies would often elect a self-appointed governor to take care of social, economic, and political business. Another feature of American politics was the accessibility of voting, compared to the English system. Voting in town-meetings was restricted to all white males who owned land. Having said that, land was an easier commodity to acquire in America, meaning many white males who were willing to put in the effort could weigh in at the polls. The voice of the colonists was especially useful for self-taxation. One of the dearest rights of the colonists was to only be taxed with representation, as only they could fairly decide how much of the people’s money needed to go to the

In the United States of America, the political party system is pivotal to the function of our nation. The political party system in our society today is separated between the Democrats and the Republicans. Although political parties do possess uncertainties their advantages outweigh their drawbacks in America. The United States of America is made up of two basic political parties, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. A political party is a group of individuals who share similar interest and they work together with one another to construct and execute policies. The Democratic Party was established in 1828, by Andrew Jackson. The Democratic Party was created based on a belief in an unyielding government and an advocacy of social and

In 1790, the United States had just recently broke free from the British crown and united under the cause of liberty. But in spite of this, Americans saw political rifts brought about by the rise of political parties. The rise of political parties in 1790 was caused by general distrust, disagreements on policies, and constitutional disagreements between the Federalist and Democratic-Republican parties, which were led by Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, respectively.

Today, political parties are an authoritative and essential component of the United States political system. However, it is important to examine how the political parties began and evolved over hundreds of years, since they were first established. In 1794, the major political parties were the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. The major difference between these two was that the Federalists favored a strong central government, while the Democratic-Republicans preferred a central government with limited power and more state control. At the time of the election, it seemed that the prominent, distinguished Federalist Party clearly had the upper hand, but in the end the