“The defining political fact of our time is the division of America (Greenberg).” This is how George Stephanopoulos, a television journalist and former political adviser, summarizes the reality of American politics.
One reason for this is America’s two-party system. These parties are the Democrats and the Republicans. Some people believe they are good, but others see them as destructive and useless. Political parties are bad for the United States because they are limited and cause national division.
Political parties were first used in 1791, during George Washington’s second presidential term. Back then, there were two main political parties as well. One, the Federalist Party, was founded by Alexander Hamilton. The other, started by Thomas Jefferson, was the Democrat-Republican Party. These parties have changed and separated dramatically since George Washington’s death. By 1816, the Federalists had dissolved, and were ruled out by the Democrat-Republicans.
Soon, this dominant party changed their name and some of their beliefs to what Democrats are today. Shortly after, Republicans (originally known as Whigs) were formed.Today, Democrats and Republicans are the two main political parties in America. One fourth of U.S. voters aren’t identified with either of these parties, though.
These people evaluate each candidate carefully, regardless of their party (Krasner).There are some who believe that political parties are beneficial to America’s government. Parties train and nominate political leaders. Political parties unify people with similar views into factions. They advance citizens’ interests and help them understand politics (Political).
Having only two parties simplifies voters’ choices. Political parties help make sense of American parties (Krasner), represent people’s views, and define specific concerns.Political parties have many more things that are bad about them than good. They are mostly an organized attempt to obtain power; they are self-interested. The parties only provide their services so that they can gain votes, hopefully leading to winning the election (Lowi).Political parties don’t benefit the common good as much as some people think.
Having only two main parties, citizens’ choices are limited. It is sometimes difficult for people to choose between the two parties because, while Democrats tend to believe in equality of opportunity and Republicans in individual freedom, voters want both (Krasner). The U.S.
is divided politically and culturally, where all sides have extremely different views and beliefs (Greenberg). Democrats and Republicans are locked in a power struggle in which victory or defeat is always possible in the elections (Black). The American voters’ loyalties are almost perfectly divided between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party (Greenberg). While the Northeast and Pacific Coast regions seem to be mostly Democratic and the South and Mountains/Plains regions mostly Republican, the Midwest remains a swing region where majorities could easily go either way (Black).
In fact, these parties are so evenly matched that even the slightest change in vote numbers could bring total change to which political party has control of the United States government (Greenberg). With America split like this, governing it will remain a very difficult challenge. The U.S. wasn’t forced to use political parties.
In fact, George Washington, who distrusted political parties, warned against them (Landau). The country didn’t listen, though, and separated into political parties, anyway. In the Farewell Address, Washington warned of the possibility that parties could distract the government from its duty to the people (Jamison). He predicted that political parties would divide the nation and grow trying to be more powerful than other groups, which has already happened (Landau).
He believed that their “goal” was to retain power and simply get revenge on political opponents (Jamison). Political parties have and still are causing division in the U.S. With this great country split down the middle, it will grow harder and harder to bring it back together.
Political parties don’t help much and are way too destructive to keep. Like George Stephanopoulos said, the main point is the political and cultural division of America. This nation is called the United States for a reason. Let’s keep it that way.
