Learn about the evolution of the two-party system in the United States and of the two major political parties. Also be able to identify minor political parties.
Political Parties in the US | History, Evolution & List
Table of Contents
- 19th-Century Political Parties
- Evolution of the Two-Party System
- How Many Political Parties Are There in the US?
- Lesson Summary
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the US have 3 parties?
Yes. The major parties are the Republican and Democratic Party. There are also the Libertarian Party, Green Party and Constitution Party. Additionally, there are over 200 lesser known parties.
What are all the US political parties?
The main two are the Republican and Democratic Party. The three next largest are the Libertarian Party, Green Party and Constitution Party. There are 209 political parties in total.
Table of Contents
- 19th-Century Political Parties
- Evolution of the Two-Party System
- How Many Political Parties Are There in the US?
- Lesson Summary
Initially, 19th-century political parties were dominated by the original two from the previous era; the Federalist Party and Democratic-Republican Party. Under the guidance of Alexander Hamilton, the Federalists primarily favored a strong central government, closer ties to the United Kingdom, and a robust national banking system. Their main opposition came from the Democratic-Republicans, who held alternative stances to the Federalists. Believing in decentralized government, stronger relations with Republican France, and agrarian policies, Thomas Jefferson led the party in the early years of the United States.
By the late 1820s, however, the political landscape eventually shifted to the Whigs and Democratic Party. Advocating the legislative branch of government, the Whigs saw Congress as the primary institution by which the country should be shaped. The Democrats, on the other hand, wished for the President to utilize his executive office to have a stronger say over policy.
During the 1850s, a major political realignment occurred due to the issue of slavery being expanding into new territories. The Whigs dissolved as a functioning party with members joining the emerging Republican Party, adopting many of the same positions but also taking an anti-slavery platform as well, additionally attracting northern abolitionist Democrats. This culminated in the 1860 election, which witnessed Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln win the presidency. As a result, southern states who promoted slavery succeeded from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America. During the Civil War, political parties reflected this national divide; the Democratic Party split into party members who supported the war effort and Democrats who disagreed with how Lincoln was running the war. The "Radical Republicans" were members of Lincoln's own party who believed he wasn't doing enough to win the war itself, disagreeing with his lenient policies toward the Southern secessionists. These are basically what were the political parties during the Civil War.
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Following the Civil War and the abolition of slavery, the political system saw another transformation. The Democrats were the primary party in the South while the Republicans dominated the North, in addition to the newly admitted states. The era of Reconstruction instituted the mass enfranchisement of Black voters throughout the South by federal authorities, largely supported by Republicans and vehemently opposed by Democrats. But, in 1877, the Reconstruction era ended when the last Federal troops left the Southern states in which they remained, allowing Democrats to impose "Jim Crow laws" that enabled White supremacy over Black citizens throughout the American South until the middle of the 20th century.
The massive industrialization of the country during the late 19th century transformed the economy of the United States, and politics changed in response. Both parties attracted politicians who promoted the business interests of wealthy industrialists and progressives who advocated more significant reforms to ensure the welfare of the working class. The early 1900s bared a series of progressive laws that reined in corporations from exercising too much power, regulating their business practices in favor of the consumer. The political era also allowed voters to directly choose their senators and ultimately gave women the right to vote. Republican President Theodore Roosevelt and Democratic President Woodrow Wilson were both leaders who enacted progressive agendas.
In 1929, the country faced another major crisis in the form of The Great Depression. A long period of economic prosperity ended in the aftermath of the Stock Market collapsing, causing a decade of severe financial hardship. Numerous businesses went bankrupt, unemployment skyrocketed, and poverty grew throughout the land. Amidst this climate, the Democratic candidate, Franklin D. Roosevelt, was elected President in 1932. Promising a "New Deal", Roosevelt signed into law multiple policies of direct government intervention, forming agencies that hired unemployed workers for public projects and creating Social Security which allowed a state pension for older citizens. Ultimately, Roosevelt created a coalition of Whites and Blacks in both the North and South, upsetting the traditional two-party system. This series of actions fundamentally altered the party politics for the nation, in effect marking the point when Democrats and Republicans switched platforms. After then, the Democratic Party would attract liberals who favored strong government action within a person's life, while the Republican Party would mostly be constituted of conservatives arguing for less state interference and more private business in society. This political alignment continues to this day.
Today, the two major political parties are the Democratic and Republican parties. However, other parties continue to operate to a lesser degree. The Libertarian Party pushes an agenda of extremely limited government in all aspects of society, such as believing a person should be allowed to have access to most drugs, that trade should be free, and immigration should be open. The Green Party primarily emphasizes environmental policies which protect nature, and promote social justice and other left-wing issues. The Constitution Party is a socially conservative group that is pro-life, opposes high taxation, and supports stronger gun-owning rights, among others. An array of smaller parties at the state and local level also exist, such as the Alliance Party and Working Families Party. In total, there are 209 distinct parties throughout the United States.
The first political parties were the Federalist Party and Democratic-Republican Party. These eventually dissolved or morphed into the Whigs and Democratic Party, before the Whigs collapsed and were replaced by the Republican Party as a result of fierce debates on slavery being expanded into new territories prior to the Civil War. Many northern Democrats and Whigs who opposed slavery joined the new Republican Party that was forming around the cause for abolition; whereas, southern Democrats supported slavery and chose to secede from the Union, forming the Confederate States of America. Following the war, the Democrats were the primary party in the South while the Republicans dominated the North. Economic industrialization altered party members' views on how policy should affect the welfare of citizens, causing substantial laws to be passed by both Republican and Democratic presidents.
The 1930s witnessed The Great Depression and the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat who strengthened the role of government in America. Roosevelt's presidency and the Great Depression brought about the final evolution of the two-party political system. Since then, the Democratic Party has pursued policies more favored by liberals, and the Republican Party has a platform better regarded by conservatives. There are also various smaller contemporary political parties, such as the Libertarian Party, Green Party, and Constitution Party. There are numerous state and local parties totaling 209.
Video Transcript
The Final Evolution of the Two-Party System
In a previous lesson, we noted that life is full of choices, and that for major elections, such as president, the American public only has to choose between the candidates of two major parties. Our current two political parties, the Democratic and Republican parties, went through many changes before they became the parties that we know today. In fact, it would take two major historical events to fully shape the Democratic and Republican parties: the issue of slavery leading up to the Civil War, which helped the two parties form, and the Great Depression and subsequent New Deal of the 1930s, which helped shape the parties' ideologies.
Emergence of Democrats and Republicans
The issue of the abolition of slavery ultimately destroyed the Whig/Democrat party system. Many Northern Democrats who opposed slavery joined a new party, the Republican Party which was forming around the cause for abolition. Southern Democrats, however, supported slavery and threatened to leave the Union. The Whigs also split along regional lines. In the South, many Whigs joined the Democrats even though they disagreed with Democrats on many economic issues. In short, issues surrounding race and preserving the Union trumped economic issues.
When Abraham Lincoln was elected as the first Republican president, the South chose to rebel rather than to accept the election results. So the Southern states declared independence, or secession, and the North went to war to force them back into the Union. Party allegiances hardened in the highly emotional atmosphere of war. Many Northern workers and farmers who had Democratic sympathy saw the Democratic Party as the party of treason and rebellion. These feelings greatly weakened the Democrats in the North. Most of the Democrats' remaining support in the North came from urban political machines founded on immigrant groups.
Following the war was a short period of Reconstruction when Republicans had political power in the South because they had won the war. However, Southern whites would eventually regain control over Southern state governments, take the vote away from black Republicans, and send segregationist Democrats to Washington.
The Republican Party dominated the North and most of the new states joining the nation in the West. The result was a regional basis for the political parties with Republican domination of the national government. For several decades, resentments and anger over the Civil War dominated economic issues that might have made the two parties more competitive in all parts of the nation. In the South, the issue of race and the role that African Americans should play in politics dominated all other issues for more than a century.
The Modern Era of the Two-Party System
Following the Civil War, the Republican Party dominated the political system for a long time. However, the push for reform in all areas of society, called progressivism, changed all that. The Republican Party at this time split after Republican Theodore Roosevelt campaigned for the presidency on a third-party Progressive ticket. This allowed the Democratic candidate Woodrow Wilson to win the presidency. Despite a Democrat regaining power in the political system, Wilson's progressivism marked the beginning of a radical change in Democratic policies. Remember that traditionally, the Democratic Party had been the party of limited government. Under Wilson, the Democrats became, for the first time, at least as receptive as the Republicans to government action in the economy.
Republican prominence would resume after Wilson, but it ended with the Great Depression due to the humiliation Republican president Herbert Hoover faced for his inept handling. The Great Depression shattered the working-class belief in Republican economic competence. This opened the door for Democratic presidential candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt to take office.
To end the Great Depression, Roosevelt opened all of his relief programs to both whites and African Americans. Roosevelt's coalition was broad enough to establish Democrats as the new majority party, in place of the Republicans. In the 1950s, Republican president and World War II general Dwight D. Eisenhower won two presidential races. Otherwise, with minor interruptions, the Democratic ascension lasted until 1968.
The 1960s was a decade marked by the civil rights movement, race riots, and heated protests against the Vietnam War. As a result, the two-party system that we know today took its final shift, where many conservative voters, especially in the South, left the Democrats. The defectors outnumbered the number of new voters joining the Democratic Party. The movement in party composition had thus created a political party balance.
Since 1968, the nation has been almost evenly divided in politics in both presidential and congressional elections. That balance is also reflected in the party that controls Congress during a presidential term. While there are some exceptions, for the most part, the party that controls Congress is usually the opposite party of the president. This trend has continued for the most part since 1968.
Lesson Summary
The evolution of our political party system has taken many turns. The Republican and Democratic parties that we know today did not begin that way when the two-party system was first established. It was not until just before the Civil War (1828 - 1860) and the battle over slavery and the New Deal following the Great Depression that our current two major political parties started to take shape. While there have been some significant changes in the two political parties, they have remained in somewhat of a balance of power throughout the modern era.
Learning Outcomes
When you've studied all sections of this lesson, you could:
- Identify the two major political parties of the United States
- Describe how social issues such as slavery, the Great Depression and civil rights molded the political parties
- Express understanding of progressivism and the contemporary two-party system
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