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Political parties
An essentiAl feAture of democrAtic government, political parties bring people with
common political ideas together. the us constitution made no mention of political parties, but as the
first American government took shape, several issues divided its politicians. A group known as the
federalists supported strong national government; the Anti-federalists formed to oppose them.
these groups developed into the first American political parties: the federalists, led by
Alexander Hamilton, and the democratic-republicans, led by thomas Jefferson.
today, America has a two-party system, with most elected officials
belonging to either the democratic or the republican
party. Both parties are complex organizations, with
offices at local, state, and national levels.repuBlicAn pArty
founded in 1854, the republican party was established to
oppose the spread of slavery and provide strong opposition
to the powerful democrats. the first successful republican
presidential candidate was Abraham lincoln, elected in 1860.
the party supported the rights of the people against big
government, a policy that
appealed to many groups,
including farmers, merchants,
and industrialists. in 1874, a
political cartoonist used an
elephant to represent the
republican vote; to this day,
the elephant symbolizes the
republican party.tHird pArties
no third party has ever won the
presidency. However, their ideas
have often won such support
that the two major parties have
adopted them. many third parties
support a single issue, such as gun
laws or prohibition (of alcohol).pArty conventions
democrats and republicans
hold national conventions
(left) every four years, in the
same year as a presidential
election. the purpose of the
convention is to officially
nominate candidates for
president and vice president
and to adopt a party platform,
a list of the party’s goals
and policies.Republicans
campaign with
their elephant
mascot.congress
constitution
government and politics
presidency“boss” tweed
the power of politics has
attracted many greedy
people. perhaps the most
famous political “boss”
was William macy tweed,
who ran the new york
city democratic party
headquarters in the
mid-1800s. tweed traded
favors, offering jobs to
immigrants and workers in
exchange for their support,
giving him enough
votes to influence
lawmakers.A 19th-century Prohibition poster
illustrates the Temperance League’s
battle against alcoholism.democrAtic pArty
the oldest existing political party in the
united states, the democratic party was
once part of Jefferson’s democratic-
republicans. After the party split in the
1820s, Andrew Jackson led his new
democratic party to its first presidential
victory in 1828. the party championed the
common people and supported a strong
federal government. during the civil War,
disagreements over slavery weakened the
party, giving the republicans power.A donkey is the symbol
of the Democratic Party.US_416_Political_Parties.indd 416 22/01/16 4:46 pm