American Political Parties

There have been many different political parties since the beginning of the American political system. A political party is made up of a group of people that share common goals and ideals, and these people work together to help elect people to offices that share these goals to represent them. Political parties work to try to control the government and their ultimate goal is to win as many elections and to gain as many offices as possible. During the time when the Constitution was being debated over the first two political parties surfaced in the United States, the Federalists, and the Anti-Federalists. After the Constitution was ratified the Anti-Federalists, led by Thomas Jefferson, became the …show more content…

The Whigs also believed in creating good citizens by setting up governmental programs like jails, religious institutions, reformatories, and schools (www.encyclopedia.com). This party also debated the issue of wage labor, mainly as a defense of slavery. But the opposing view was that wage labor was not a violation of freedom, since workers were not forced to work in factories as slaves were forced to work for their masters. Abolitionists agreed and argued that wage laborers could someday escape their factory lives and have much more freedom than the slaves, who could not escape (www.encyclopedia.com). The slavery issue, which was causing the nation to split into the North and South, caused the end of the Whig Party. Due to the split in opinion over slavery the Whigs began to split in the 1850's and became supporters in different political parties. During the next few years most Southern Whigs joined the Democrats in support of slavery. Northern Whigs joined northern antislavery Democrats. In 1854 the men against slavery pushed for the creation of a new political party opposed to continuing slavery. This party became the Republican Party. The Democrats viewed the Republicans antislavery policy as an abuse in national power, and as a direct threat to their way of life. The Democrats were determined to maintain slavery and insisted that the balance of free and slave states not be upset when new states