Two Political Parties example essay topic

A valuable factor within any democracy is the presence of political parties. As dictated by Webster, a party is meant as 'a group, which unites to promote or maintain a policy, a cause, or other purposes, as a political group. ' This definition can be easily simplified as individuals with a common cause. This is just the case with American political parties. They are ordinary groups of individuals with a common cause in hopes to gain political power.

Within the United States, two political parties make up the majority, the Republicans and Democrats. Unlike many other democratic nations around the world, America is unique with their generalized lack of parties. However, there is a growing trend within America that implies the two-party system, which has been the leader in American politics, has started to become weak. When the United States initially formed as a nation, there were few differentiations between the people.

Those with voting privileges were mostly white Anglo-Saxons. The greatest differences seemed to be developing around the issue of slavery creating a North versus South political atmosphere. Siding with the intelligence of the era, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, the federalist and anti federalist parties developed around opposing ideas regarding a written Bill of Rights. This form of elitism running the government was not unreasonable in a time when communication to the outskirts and rural areas of the nation was slow. The common, uneducated people needed to trust that those making immediate decisions were educated and capable of running this nation, which most politicians proved to be.

The elitist government and political party system that existed in colonial times, however, does not suffice the needs of the 21st century American. In the past two centuries, the United States has survived an industrial revolution which brought along advances in communication technology, as well as two world wars and massive immigration, be it legal or illegal. Culturally, the nation has changed from primarily Anglo-Saxon, to the melting pot that it is likened to today. However, the two party system has not changed to meet the needs of the diverse population. The leaders of this nation are still primarily white and wealthy. There has yet to be a female or minority in Presidency and only a limited number of females and minorities have made it to high positions within the political parties.

Aside from the race and gender ratios which impact political parties is the persistent donation of soft money in which political parties are practically bought by the leading industrial companies. The political party that provides the greatest cooperation regarding economic and environmental policy, receives the greatest sum of money and can run a bigger and better campaign than the opposing party. Additionally, there is the factor of the two party system being protected and maintained by the continuing government policy of providing government funds to run political campaigns. This prevents third parties from truly achieving impact beyond the local or state level.

In order for a third party to receive government funding to run a federal political campaign, the party must first acquire a specific percentage of the national votes. By maintaining this policy, the federal government continues to ensure that the two political parties of our day, the Democrats and the Republicans, face minimal competition from third parties. They thereby dominate the political scene with little differentiation between either as both parties work to ride the moderate ground on most issues. America today is facing an issue which has repeated throughout the nation's political history. It is the issue of one party dominating while the second party flounders in search of a steady limb to stand on.

Since there is no third party to deal with, the Republicans are generally free to do as they wish within Congress and the Presidency. Half the nation which opposes George W. Bush is left in the dark with no party to properly represent them. It is these issues which currently hinder our decision making process and every day it is made more clear that the two party system no longer meets the needs of the nation.