The first political parties appeared around the end of the 18th century. The Federalists and The Anti-Federalists(later named the Democratic - Republican Party.). http://edhelper.com/ReadingComprehension_34_26.html
They were mostly split over state's rights and farming vs. manufacturing. Federalists eventually won the battle for the Constitution but their Party was decimated by Anti - Federalist's relentless vote recruiting. Over the next 100 years, many Parties rose up and many quickly disappeared. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_the_United_States
And many, many more. At the dawn of the 20th century, 2 political Parties became the dominant power in the political system. The latest version of the Democratic Party and, the relatively young, Republican Party. The Democrats have been around almost as long as our country. It has ran the gamut of political ideology, from Anti - Constitution to Libertarian, Pro - slavery to Progressive. Constantly changing to appeal to the America at the time. To stay relevant. Eventually settling in to the Party we all know today. They have taken over the Northern power base abandoned by the Republicans decades ago and promote free trade, business reform, and civil rights. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_(United_States)
The Republican Party was founded shortly before the Civil War by abolitionists and anti - slavery activists. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_(United_States) They quickly won power in many parts of the North on their slogan "free labor, free land, free men". It's anti-plantation, anti-slavery platform appealed to Northern abolitionists and poor Southern farmers losing ground in a "Plantation economy". Lincoln's election cemented their national power status and the decades following the Civil War were mostly under Republican leadership. Somewhere in the middle of the 20th century the Party changed. They became more socially conservative and much more pro business. Many say it was the influx of Dixiecrats into the Party. The Republicans became a more regional Party. A southern Party.
Now that you have a better idea of what you Party is, where it came from, and what it stands for, do you still owe allegiance to your Party? Do they still have allegiance to you? Are they a force for change or an obstacle to progress? Do we even need them? Washington didn't think so. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/washing.asp
- Federalist Party (c. 1789 – c. 1820)
- Anti-Federalist Party (c. 1789 – c. 1792)
- Democratic-Republican Party (1792 – c. 1824)
- Toleration Party (1816 – c. 1827)
- Anti-Masonic Party (1826–1838)
- National Republican Party (1829–1833)
- Nullifier Party (1830–1839)
- Whig Party (1833–1856)
- Liberty Party (1840–1848)
- Law and Order Party of Rhode Island (1840s)
- Free Soil Party (1848–1855)
- Anti-Nebraska Party (1854)
- American Republican Party (1843–1854)
- American Party (a.k.a. "Know-Nothings") (c. 1854 – 1858)
- Opposition Party (1854–1858)
- Constitutional Union Party (1860)
- National Union Party, (1864–1868)
- Readjuster Party (1870–1885)
- Liberal Republican Party (1872)
- Greenback Party (1874–1884)
- Anti-Monopoly Party (1884)
And many, many more. At the dawn of the 20th century, 2 political Parties became the dominant power in the political system. The latest version of the Democratic Party and, the relatively young, Republican Party. The Democrats have been around almost as long as our country. It has ran the gamut of political ideology, from Anti - Constitution to Libertarian, Pro - slavery to Progressive. Constantly changing to appeal to the America at the time. To stay relevant. Eventually settling in to the Party we all know today. They have taken over the Northern power base abandoned by the Republicans decades ago and promote free trade, business reform, and civil rights. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_(United_States)
The Republican Party was founded shortly before the Civil War by abolitionists and anti - slavery activists. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_(United_States) They quickly won power in many parts of the North on their slogan "free labor, free land, free men". It's anti-plantation, anti-slavery platform appealed to Northern abolitionists and poor Southern farmers losing ground in a "Plantation economy". Lincoln's election cemented their national power status and the decades following the Civil War were mostly under Republican leadership. Somewhere in the middle of the 20th century the Party changed. They became more socially conservative and much more pro business. Many say it was the influx of Dixiecrats into the Party. The Republicans became a more regional Party. A southern Party.
Now that you have a better idea of what you Party is, where it came from, and what it stands for, do you still owe allegiance to your Party? Do they still have allegiance to you? Are they a force for change or an obstacle to progress? Do we even need them? Washington didn't think so. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/washing.asp
"All obstructions to the execution of the laws, all combinations and associations, under whatever plausible character, with the real design to direct, control, counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and action of the constituted authorities, are destructive of this fundamental principle, and of fatal tendency. They serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put, in the place of the delegated will of the nation the will of a party, often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public administration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common counsels and modified by mutual interests.
However combinations or associations of the above description may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion." ~ George Washington.
Awesome, you have a blog.
ReplyDeleteRead about it on Typo's blog.
http://typoknig.blogspot.com
Here's mine.
http://smilingtonpost.blogspot.com/
I'm hoping to add you to my blogroll if that's ok.
About the content of your article... the party system seems to have disturbed the ideas underwriting representative democracies all oer the world and to such an extent that it's now almost always mistaken for the same thing.
To call what we have now a representative democracy is like calling a lemon a yellow colored orange. Both citrus fruits but that's about where the similarity ends.
It's interesting seeing how people vote in multi party systems, sometimes minority coalitions form and every now and then minority parties hold enough power to ram through real reforms, whether they're good or bad, real reforms are rare in 2 party systems which seem to tend to the center, always and to have almost no room for minority opinions to get a taste of power.
Getting rid of all parties and going back to a time when politicians had almost no power at all, no collective ability to chase down reforms of any kind... I don't know if it's better because fewer really bad reforms get passed or worse because no reforms of any kind are easy.
All I know is I fucking hate party politics. It destroys every country it touches.
Id like to be able to say no party owns my allegiance, but sadly if i like 2 candidates equally the r or d after the name will shift the balance. saying that i have and will probably vote for a republican, even a bagger if they are actually better than the D candidate. hell i was a registered republican unti 2001. hey the 80s were a crazy time and i was mostly high. just never got around to changing it until gw came along.
ReplyDeleteWow- I am so glad to have found you guys- three of many of my absolute favorite people from HP! That said, I agree with you, El and Guy. It is right now being the death of our country, I'm afraid. I was always a Dem, but especially having grown up in Chicago, I never had many illusions about politics and politicians of either party. I just always new the Repubs were invertebrates out for a buck and power. I am beyond disgusted now, and scared. Barb
ReplyDeleteOh, and p.s.... thanks for the Bill Hicks video! Love him too!
ReplyDelete