How Are Political Parties Formed

The founding fathers of the country of the United States did not envision the development of political parties when they were forming the country. They had their minds set on Britain’s government before the revolution and still did not see political parties in the future after the revolution, although they did envision their own government. Because of the Articles of Confederation pertained the idea of a weak government, it had no room for political parties. The Constitution of the United States had the place for political parties, but when James Madison wrote the Constitution no one even thought of even having political parties. Shortly after the Constitution was written, however, political parties formed. How did these political parties get formed? Well, it started how many other political parties are formed today, a disagreement.
Leaders of the American Revolution hated the idea of political parties.
George Washington even warned the citizens of the United States about the dangers of having political parties. He feared that they would divide the nation and lead to conflict. James Madison thought that parties were probably a necessary thing to have, but did not entirely approve. Alexander Hamilton thought that political parties should be guarded against at all times. Even Thomas Jefferson disagreed with the idea of political parties. Nevertheless, Hamilton and Jefferson would become the fathers of the new political parties.
Alexander Hamilton became the leader of the first political party: the Federalist. The Federalist, stemmed from the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, supported the Constitution and attempted to persuade the states to ratify the document. The Federalist anonymously published a series of essays called the "Federalist papers" to try to persuade the states to adopt the Constitution. They were committed to a fiscally sound and nationalistic government. The Federalist Party consisted of mostly the elite classes, and were generally located in the north. The Federalist Party was practically eliminated after the war of 1812, of which they were strongly against.
The Whig Party was formed in America in 1834, many of whose members were from the previously dismembered Federalist Party. The party was named after the Whig party of Britain, which at the time was advocating democratic reforms in Britain. The Whig Party quickly disintegrated in 1848 after it refused to take a stand on slavery. The Liberty Party was formed in 1840 by dissatisfied members of the Anti-Slavery Society, which was dissolved after the 14th amendment. The Liberty Party was dissolved in 1848 when both the Whig Party and Liberty Party formed together to create the Free Soil Party. Two years after the Free Soil Party was formed, its remaining members joined the Republican Party.
The modern Republican Party was established at Ripon, Wisconsin in 1854 by a group of former members of the Whig Party, the Free-Soil Party, and the Democratic Party.
The Republican party is a big advocate towards a strong national government. The Republican Party, like the former Federalist Party was mostly located in the North. One of the most famous and first presidents of the Republican party was Abraham Lincoln. The Republican mascot, the elephant, was developed from the idea of a political cartoon by Thomas Nast in Harper’s Weekly. Afterthe American Civil War, the Republican Party dominated the political system. Its support of protective tariffs gained it the support of powerful industrialist and the Northern urban areas, and Northern and Midwestern farmers, and most immigrant groups. The Republican Party lost its dominating position after the Great depression, it later re-emerged with the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower, during which the Republican Party took a strong anti-communist stance and civil rights legislation and advocated lower taxes for the
rich
The Anti-Federalist was, as its name implies, a political group against the federalist. The Anti-Federalist, led by Thomas Jefferson, opposed the Constitution, complaining that it threatened liberties and failed to provide individual rights. They were deeply seated in the idea of the states having stronger power than what the Constitution gave the national government, fearing that a strong national government would lead to corruption. Although the Anti-Federalist were not successful in the prevention of the adoption of the Constitution, their efforts were responsible for the creation and implementation of the Bill of Rights. The Anti-Federalist was not a political party, but a group. They soon formed the political party of the Democratic-Republicans. The Democratic-Republican Party drew its followers from planters, small farmers and artisans in the South who wanted the government to leave them alone as much as possible.
The modern Democratic party was formed from the left over members of the Democratic-Republican Party after the split which ended with its members in the opposition party: the Republican Party. The split consisted two different kinds of people within the one Democratic-Republican party. One group entertained the ideas of the older Democratic-Republican Party back when it formed. These people were the ones who joined the Republican Party. The second group entertained the ideas of the older Federalist Party. The two Parties more or less swapped views by the time the modern Republican and Democratic parties formed. The Democratic Party mascot, the donkey, was also developed from the political cartoon by Thomas Nast in Harper’s Weekly. During the presidency of James Buchanan, the Democrats split again. This time it was over the issue of slavery. This situation eventually ended with a new political party called the Constitutional Union Party. The Democratic Party afterwards dominated the political system until the American Civil War. The Democratic Party later re-emerged as the leader of the political system during the Great Depression when Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected. Franklin D. Roosevelt became the only president to have served three terms, a total of twelve years, during which the Democratic Party gained the support of small farmers, trade unions, liberals, blacks and other minorities. The Democratic Party then remained in power until Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidency.
Although both the Republican and Democratic Parties have many differences between each other, they also have many similarities. The differences and similarities make up what the government is today. Without the concepts and ideas we, as a country, would be much different. Both parties originated from the same idea which revolved around a very important issue, the Constitution. Although most movements in government had been done by a minority, these two parties both shared a common guidance for the infancy of Colonial America. At the end of it all, both parties share much of the same resolutions of problems that we have today, but disagree on the means of how to get there. Maybe one day both parties will combine into one. But just like the writers of the Constitution who had no idea that two main political parties would emerge, we still do not have a clear idea of what the future of America will be.