Historic Political Parties - AP Government and Politics

The Populist Party arose very quickly in the 1880s and early 1890s and disappeared even quicker after the election of 1896. The Party was a coalition of the poor and farmers from the South and the western plains. They primarily wanted to see America come off the gold standardin order to put a stop to the rapid deflation that was affecting the price of agricultural products.

From the beginning of Roosevelt’s government in the 1930s—during The Great Depression—all the way through to the mid 1960s, American politics was dominated by the Democratic Party. This dominance fell apart in the dealignment election of 1968, when much of the Democratic Party’s support base migrated towards the Republicans.

The election of 1860 was the last election before the Civil War, and it demonstrated a stark sectional divide in political preference. Lincoln, and the Republican Party, carried every Free Soil state and won the electoral vote with only thirty-nine percent of the popular vote. This election propelled the Republican Party into a period of national dominance.

The Progressive Party, led by Theodore Roosevelt in the election of 1912, is the third party which has had most success in American political history. Roosevelt carried eight states in the electoral college; however, Roosevelt’s success ended up splitting the Republican support base, ensuring that Wilson, a Democrat, was elected with only forty-two percent of the popular vote.

From the early 1830s through 1856, American politics had been dominated by the Democrats and the Whigs, but in the election of 1856 the Whig Party fell apart, as many of the politicians and its support base migrated and formed the Republican Party.

Eugene Debs was one of the most famous socialists in American history. He ran for Presidency as the candidate of the Socialist Party of America on five separate occasions, once attracting over five percent of the popular vote.

It is probable you had not heard this nickname before. As such you would have to try and infer the correct answer from what you know about the five men who are given as options. William Jennings Bryan was the representative of the Populist movement with the Democratic Party throughout the waning decades of the nineteenth century and early years of the twentieth century. He supported many issues that favorably affected the common man and had great faith in the ability of the common man to make informed decisions. For this faith he was affectionately called "The Great Commoner."

Of these political figures, only Henry Clay is incorrectly matched with his political party. Henry Clay was the leader of the Whig party during the Second Party System in the United States; as such, he was a rival of the Jacksonian Democrats.

All of these politicians are matched with political actions that are consistent with their political parties and the political beliefs that they held, apart from Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson was an ardent Democratic-Republican. As such, he purported to favor a weak central government, stronger power for the States, and many protections against the possible tyranny of the Executive Branch; however, as President, he unilaterally acted to purchase the Louisiana territory, greatly expanding both the territory of the United States and the powers of the President. Few Americans would suggest he acted wrongly, but he certainly acted contrary to his own public conscience.

The States’ Rights Party, also popularly called the Dixiecrats, was led by Strom Thurmond, who ran for President on the platform of States’ Rights and the continuation of segregationist policies in the election of 1948. The Dixiecrats carried four states—South Carolina, Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi.

The Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans (sometimes just called the Republicans) were the first party system to emerge out of George Washington’s presidency.

The Federalists tended to favor in political concentration in the hands of the elite, along with a more business-favored outlook. Thus, people like Hamilton and Adams were preeminent Federalists.

The Democratic-Republicans, on the other hand, believed that political power should be more diffuse, and were a much more diverse bunch. That said, don’t get too confused—they were just more diverse than Federalists; they were not all-welcoming by any means. Jefferson and Madison were leaders of the party. The D-Rs believed in a much more agrarian-based economy, and were less enthusiastic about northern business interests. The first party system lasted from c.a. 1796 – c.a. 1824.

At the end of the First Party system, we see the Democratic-Republicans deeply fractured, internally. A lot of students assume that the “Era of Good Feelings” (Monroe’s presidency, \[elected in\] 1816-1824) means that there was no party competition at all, but this is not necessarily true. During the Era of Good Feelings there was INTRA-party competition. The Democratic - Republican Party was deeply divided over issues such as internal improvements, tariffs, and more. Remember: historians coined the term “Era of Good Feelings” because the Federalists had essentially fallen into obsolescence after the War of 1812, thus leaving only the Democratic-Republicans extant.

This division, of course, leads us into the Second Party system (c.a. 1828 - c.a. 1854). The remnants of the Federalists, and some similar-thinking Democratic-Republicans formed the Whig party. The Democratic – Republicans dropped the “Republican” part, and began calling themselves “Democrats.” Many political scientists and historians refer to them as “Jacksonian” Democrats because Andrew Jackson was the first duly elected “Democrat” president.

The third party system (c.a. 1854 – c.a. 1890s) is where we see the development and the solidification of the two parties that still exist today, the Democrats and Republicans. Remember: Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican president.

Having said that, it’s important to note that make-up of the parties (no, not the kind you wear on your face) has changed tremendously throughout the years. This is a product of what political scientists call realignment, which if beyond the scope of this particular question. For now, just know that 1854 is the first Democrat v. Republican election, and that it’s pretty much been Democrat v. Republican since then.

The New Deal Coalition came together in the early years of the 1930s to promote and keep in office President Franklin D. Roosevelt. This coalition was immensely strong, mainly due to its wide inclusion of diverse citizens from all walks of life, including Southerners, African Americans, Catholics, Jews, members of labor unions, people who lived in cities, and the poor. While the very wealthy were not likely to support the New Deal Coalition, the other groups joined together because of their respect and support for the numerous programs which FDR put into action to help the nation hold itself together during the difficult years of the Great Depression. This Coalition would prove so strong in its Democratic Party allegiance that it continued to vote Democratic leaders into office up through the 1960s.

Our current party system, with the Democrats and Republicans as the two main parties, came into being right before the start of the Civil War and has held sway ever since. The Federalist Party, however, actually vigorously promoted the US Constitution, with its leaders Alexander Hamilton and John Adams lobbying intensely for its adoption. Abraham Lincoln was actually the very first Republican candidate to become President and the Jacksonian Democrats took their name from their most famous and popular member, Andrew Jackson, whose ideas the party aggressively supported for decades.

Out of the above list, the Jeffersonians are the only example of a mainstream political party. The Jeffersonians formed at the beginning of the 1800s to support Thomas Jefferson and eventually transitioned into the Democratic-Republican Party, which continued to uphold Jefferson’s ideals. Every other party listed is an example of an influential third party – from the Free Soilers who campaigned throughout the 1850s to halt the spread of slavery to Ralph Nader’s environmentally-conscious Green Party to Theodore Roosevelt’s reform-minded Progressives. While none of these parties ever successfully managed to win the White House, nevertheless they each forced the public and the mainstream party system to take notice and respond to the crucial issues each championed.

While the Federalists and Anti-Federalists did disagree on exactly to spell out the various individual freedoms (the Anti-Federalists, who championed the Bill of Rights, thought the Constitution was initially too unclear), both parties agreed wholeheartedly about the necessity and governmental preservation of personal liberties. On the other hand, these two groups did indeed engage in many conflicts and shared few other commonalities. The Federalists wanted the national government to be stronger than the individual state governments, a power structure which the Anti-Federalists fiercely opposed. Meanwhile, the Anti-Federalists believed that political officials should be directly elected by the people and should serve only short terms, while the Federalists wanted just the opposite (indirect election and longer terms). Most of the Federalists were well-off individuals, either large landowners or successful merchants or professionals, and therefore believed that the highest government offices would be best run by their fellow elites, who they contended had the necessary education and experience for successful governing. The Anti-Federalists derided this belief; as small farmers or laborers, they felt that the so-called “common man” (aka the average white male citizen) was more than intelligent and qualified enough by their various life experiences to effectively govern. According to the Anti-Federalists, the Federalists were nothing more than snobby elitists, while the Federalists looked down their opponents as small-minded and petty.

The first major party that organized in the United States was the Federalists. They organized around the effort to get the Constitution rarified. They faced loose and unorganized opposition from the Anti-Federalists (not a formal party).

The New Deal coalition emerged during the early years of the Roosevelt administration and would allow the Democratic party to dominate American politics for the next thirty years. It is used to refer to the alignment of seemingly disparate social and interest groups into one reliable voting bloc that would support New Deal policies and the continued expansion of social welfare and government involvement in the well-being of the population. It included the urban working class, Catholics, Jews, white southerners, African Americans, farmers, and intellectuals.