The Two-Party System In The United States

A party system is a concept in comparative political science concerning the system of government by political parties in a democratic country. Political parties have basic similarities; they control the government, have a stable base of mass popular support, and create internal mechanisms for controlling funding, information and nominations. The United States is a two-party system. This is where two major political parties dominate politics within a government. One of the two parties holds a majority in the legislature and usually referred to as the majority party white the other is the minority party. There have been some instances however where third party candidates have won an election. For example, under the Second Party System, after
the Republicans collapsed the Whig Party and Free Soil Party formed.
After the Federalist Party's collapse in 1816, there became an "Era of Good Feelings," in which there were no parties until the Election of 1824.
This was between John Quincy Adams for the Republicans and Andrew Jackson for the Democratic Party. None of the candidates got a majority vote which led this to be the only election in since the passing of the Twelfth Amendment to United States Constitution to have been decided by the House of Representatives. Adams was elected president on February 9, 1825. After losing, Jackson creates the Democratic Party which leads Adams to stand in opposition to the idea leading to the creation of a new coalition. Developments from this are the spoil system, National Party Conventions and creation of the Whigs party whom elected popular military heroes in the campaign of 1840. The Whigs party established that winning comes first and principles come second. A third party of entrepreneurial politics came about with the rise of the Republican Party. Their coalition was built on an anti-slavery platform and pro-tariff/pro-railway. This was also the start of the Progressive Era in which the use of the Australian ballot began to become popular. This is when candidates are written separately and the voter votes separately. Literacy tests and registration became in affect and because of this voter turnout
dropped.
During 1896 and 1929 the fourth party system came in affect. This was marked by Republican supremacy, with most Democratics becoming populists in 1829. However soon the Republican era fell, which according to most was because of the 1929 stock market crash. In the Election of 1932, Franklin Roosevelt takes the win and becomes the 32nd president of the United States.
During the fifth party system, FDR implements the New Deal Coalition. This refers to the alignment of interest groups that supported the New Deal and voted for Democratic presidential candidates from 1932 until the late 1960's. It also made the Democratic Party the majority party during this period and only losing to Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956. Franklin Roosevelt forged a coalition that included banking and oil industries, Democratic state party organizations, labor unions, blue collar workers, minorities, farmers, and white southerners. However the coalition fell apart during the 1968 election but still remains the model that party activists seek to copy. The Republican Coalition supports American conservatism, but just like any party it includes diversity on these thoughts. It's developers, Robert Taft and Everett McKinley Dirksen based the coalition on opposition to the New Deal. They opposed labor unions, high taxes, and government regulation. Their members were mostly businesspeople/professional, wealthy white protestants, and people who lived the Northeast or Midwest. Also during this time the civil rights movement was beginning and was welcomed by many except white southerners. However, white southerners and the working class did support the Vietnam War while intellectuals opposed it. Political growth begins to slow by 1970 which marks the end of the fifth party system.