Political Parties Timeline

How Parties Began

• Political parties didn't develop until the late 1600s in Ancient Greece by the Greeks.
• There were two groups that represented people with different interest, the Patricians and the Plebians.
• Patricians represented noble families.
• Plebians represented the wealthy merchants.

English Political Parties

• All over England in 1678, people were either for or against the king's act.
• Petitioners were people who urged the king to call a new Parliament. Also known as Whigs. "Whig" was an old term for Scottish Presbyterians who opposed the governemnt.
• Abhorrers were people who supported the king's deed. Also known as Tories. "Tory" was a name given to Irish Roman Catholics who were with the government.

Early U.S. Parties in 1700's

• In 1787, Hamiliton and other leaders wanted a strong central government, so they started calling themselves the Federalists. This was the first political party in the United States of America.
• In 1796, anti-Federalists gathered around Thomas Jefferson, because he was against political parties. They were called the Democratic-Republicans.

Early U.S. Parties in 1800's

• In 1828, Andrew Jackson, a Democratic-Republican was elected president. His party had great support from the South and the West of the United States. Jackson changed the party's name to Democrats.
• People who had once been Federalists joined with anti-Jackson Democrats to form the National Republican, or Whig Party.
• The "Know-Nothing" Party was a new party that violently opposed Roman Catholics and foreigners.

U.S. Parties in 1800's

• In 1854, anti-slavery forces and Free Soil forces formed the Republican Party. The Republicans ran their first presidental candiate, John C. Fremont, in 1856.
• By 1860 the voters had a choice of four major parties: Northern Democrat, Southern Democrat, Republican, and Constitutional-Union Party.

U.S. World Events

• By 1854 the issue of slavery overshadowed all political debate. A related issue was states' rights. Debate over slavery and states' rights tore the parties apart.
• Northern Abolitionists were people who wanted to get rid of slavery. A lot of them ended up leaving the Whig Party.
• Strong anti-slavery feelings helped Republicans capture the presidency for Abraham Lincoln.
• In 1861, the Southern states seceded and the Civil War began.
• The two major parties were not so deeply divided again until the 1930's. At that time the Great Dpression struck the country. The presidental election of 1932 brought in Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal programs.

U.S. Third Parties

• The United States has a two-party system. However, nothing in the Constituion requires two parties.
• Third parties focus attention on issues and ideas. Sometimes they draw enough support to affect the outcome of elections. Sometimes the third parties will support a major party that promises to act on the third party's views.
• In the 1970's the Libertarian Party stressed individual rights. Like earlier third parties, these groups have helped focus attention on important social and political issues.

Democrats and Republicans

• The defeat of the Southern Confederacy weakened the Democracts, who were associated in voters' minds with the Southern cause. For many years the Republicans were the major party.
• Today both parties agree in general on social security, unemployment insurance, basic foreign policy, and civil rights.
• In the 21st century in the United States, Republicans and Democracts have different views and opinions on certain things.
• Republicans tend to oppose government porgrams as solutions to national programs.
• Democrats tend to believe that government can and should act for good.

How U.S. Parties Work

• The major U.S. political parties are highly organized. The parties are run by country and state committees.
• Every 4 years, parties hold national conventions, and delegates are chosen. These delegates gather at the conventions to nominate a presidential and a vice presidential candiadate.
• In the 21st century, parties use computers to draw up lists of possible supporters and take public opinion polls to explore the views of voters on certain issues.
• State and federal laws control the ways political parties can raise and handle money.

Political Parties in Other Countries

• Political parties are often a standard by which a country's political freedom can be meausred. Some countries have only one political party, like China.
• With this system, people who are against the party cannot express their objections by voting for another group.
• Democracies usually operate under a two-party or a multiparty system. Some examples are the United States, Britain, Canada, etc.
• Three or more parties are common in countries in Europe, and other parts of the world. In these countries there may be many parties representing a wide range of political views.