Politics

Politics: The Comparison of the Two Major Parties

In the world of politics, nothing seems more different than the two opposites on the U.S. political spectrum, the Republican and the Democratic Parties. From afar, these two giants of the political world seem to clash on most issues and criticize the other’s way of thinking. Although many can easily recognize how these parties differ from each other, like on the issues of health care, the size of the national government, and taxes, some of the similarities are less obvious. Both parties have stereotypes attached to them, both believe their way is the right way, and both play important roles in our two party system of government, keeping a system of checks and balance so one party can’t take over or have too much influence. Most can argue which party is right and which party is wrong, but one thing most people can agree on is that both parties, throughout history, have helped to make this country a better place to live.
Our country was founded on and benefits from a two party system; however, the parties have evolved and changed their views on government over the years. Republicans and Democrats disagreements actually help to provide a stable government. The two parties differences provide the opportunity to research and debate the issues so that the country can understand both points of view. Often one party controls the congress and the other occupies the presidency, so changes in government policy require concessions from both sides and occur incrementally rather than radically. The two party system started with Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. Hamilton was a Federalist, feared anarchy, believed in the strength of law and order, and that the Federal government should have more power than the state government. Jefferson was Democratic-Republican, he feared tyranny, and he believed that the states should have more of a say in government. This is not the same beliefs that the parties have today which shows how Americas shifts between right and left thinking. Today Republicans believe in stronger state government, and today’s Democrats now believe in a strong federal government witch is the opposite from their first beliefs on government. Although not all people are at the extremes of either party, most put themselves in the middle and slightly either towards the right or the left. The two party system allows Americans to shift between the two parties when they feel one party is getting too powerful or not leading the country in the right direction.(3)
Both parties’ have similar beginnings in that they were started because of conflicting views with the first political parties which caused them to break away. First, let us look at the Republican Party (GOP) and their beliefs. The GOP started in the late 1850’s, when they broke away from the Republican-Democrats. A common perspective of the Republican Party as a bunch of fat old white people, which is somewhat true, they are actually the younger of the two parties. One of the reasons that they broke a way from the Democratic Republicans was the issue of slavery. They were the first party to oppose slavery and they worked on legislation to outlaw slavery. A Republican signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed the slaves, and the fourteenth amendment, that made slavery illegal, and the fifteenth amendment that helped secure voting rights for African-Americans. Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican president to be elected to office. The Republicans Party believes in limited government, low taxes, and private insurer- based health care. (1)
Second, let us look at how the Democrats started and their beliefs. Thomas Jefferson founded the Democratic Party in 1792. Most people believe that the Democrats are a bunch of young radical hippie elitists, that can’t keep America safe. Well, the young radical hippie might be a little true, but the Democratic Party is the older of the two parties remaining, and instead of being considered elitist they were known as the Common Man party, which used to be called the Republican-Democrats. They broke a way from the Federalists because of disagreements of how much power the government should or shouldn’t have. The first Democratic president was Jefferson, and then James Monroe was elected right after him. The Democrats believe in a strong central government, tax cuts for working class and not the wealthiest, and they are leaning to a more socialized health care plain. (2)
Although Republicans and Democrats will agree to disagree, both have and will continue to make their own contributions to America. Though their ideologies might change as time goes on, neither show any signs of relinquishing their opposition to each other. As long as people stand at different sides of an issue there will be Democrats and Republicans.



Sources:

(1) http://gop.com/index.php/learn/who_we_are/
(2) http://www.democrats.org/a/party/history.html
(3) http://www.answers.com/topic/two-party-system