HISTORY35 - American Political Parties

This article is about the history of American political parties.  This subject came to my mind when reflecting on the current state of American politics, which many people think is broken.  I want to try to understand how we got where we are, and then perhaps, try to figure out where we might be going, politics wise.

 

Key sources include Lumen Learning, “The History of Political Parties,” and the University of Minnesota Libraries, “History of American Political Parties,” supplemented with numerous other online sources.

I’ll start with the ratification of the United States Constitution and the subsequent rise of political parties.  I’ll cover the development of political parties over six time periods as outlined in the table below.  For historical perspective, I’ll talk about the historic milestones that occurred during the term of each U.S. president in each time period.  I’ll also cover the results of all U.S. presidential elections to date, along with the voting results for competing parties.  Finally, I’ll conclude with a snapshot of U.S. political parties today and a list of perceived problems.

Roadmap of my discussion of the history of U.S. political parties.

Years	Period	Party	Party
1792-1824	The New Nation	Federalist Party   (Alexander Hamilton)	Democratic-Republican Party  (Thomas Jefferson)
1824-1854	National Expansion	Whig Party                 (Henry Clay)	Democratic Party           (Andrew Jackson)
1854-1896	Civil War, Reconstruction, and Rapid Economic Growth	Republican Party   (Abraham Lincoln)	Democratic Party           (Andrew Jackson)
1896-1933	Progressive Era	Republican Party	Democratic Party
1933-1968	New Deal Coalition	Republican Party	Democratic Party
1968-present	Candidate-Centered Politics	Republican Party	Democratic Party

  

Rise of Political Parties

Following the Revolutionary War, in which America secured its independence from Great Britain, the United States Constitution was written in 1787 and unanimously ratified by the states in 1788, taking effect in 1789.  The winning supporters of ratification of the Constitution were called Federalists and the opponents were called Anti-Federalists.  The immediate problem faced by the Federalists was not simply one of acceptance of the Constitution, but the more fundamental concern of legitimacy for the government of the new republic.  The Anti-Federalist movement objected to the new, powerful central government and the loss of prestige for the states, and saw the Constitution as a potential threat to personal liberties.

The Constitution is silent on the subject of political parties.  The Founding Fathers did not originally intend for American politics to be partisan.  In the Federalist Papers, promoting ratification of the Constitution, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison wrote specifically about the dangers of domestic political parties, fearing that factions would arise, resulting in “conflict and stagnation.”

America’s Founders were of course familiar with partisan political parties that had developed from factions in England in the 1680s over arguments about how strong the government should be in their newly established constitutional monarchy.

In addition, the first President of the United States, George Washington, was not a member of any political party at the time of his election or throughout his tenure as president.  Upon taking office in 1789, President George Washington sought to create an “enlightened administration” devoid of political parties.  He appointed two political adversaries to his cabinet, Alexander Hamilton as treasury secretary and Thomas Jefferson as secretary of state, hoping that the two great minds could work together in the national interest.  

The dynamic force in the Presidency of George Washington was the secretary of the treasury, Alexander Hamilton.  Hamilton had the vision of a strong national government and a strong national economy.  Hamilton proposed a financial system for national and international stability that included paying off the national debt from the Revolutionary War, creation of a system of taxes and tariffs to pay for the debt, and the creation of a national bank.

 

Alexander Hamilton, the United States first Secretary of the Treasury, supported a strong national government - leading to the founding of the Federalist Party in 1789.

Jefferson differed radically from Hamilton, and as a Virginia farmer, he sided with local farmers, and fought Hamilton’s proposition. Jefferson believed that moneyed business interests in the New England states stood to benefit from Hamilton’s plan.

Congress approved Hamilton’s programs, which were labeled Federalist, over the opposition of the Anti-Federalists element, which increasingly coalesced under the leadership of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

Federalists supported Alexander Hamilton’s policies of a strong nationalist government, loose interpretation of the Constitution, and economic policies that maximized exports and minimized imports.  The support around these policies helped establish the Federalist Party in 1789 as the first official political party in the United States.  

Organizing the Anti-Federalists, Jefferson and Madison founded the Democratic-Republican Party in 1792. The party was created in order to oppose the policies of Hamilton and the Federalist Party.  In contrast to the Federalists, the Democratic-Republicans supported a strict interpretation of the Constitution, and denounced many of Hamilton’s proposals (especially the national bank) as unconstitutional.  The party promoted states’ rights and the primacy of the farmer over bankers, industrialists, merchants, and other monied interests.  The party supported states’ rights as a measure against the tyrannical nature of a large centralized government that they feared the Federal government could easily become.  

Washington’s vision of a government without political parties, had been short-lived.

Federalists vs. Democratic-Republicans:  1792-1824   The New Nation

Political parties were first evident in U.S. presidential elections in 1796, when Federalist John Adams was barely victorious over Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson.

Both parties originated in national politics, but later expanded their efforts to gain supporters and voters in every state. The Federalists, strongest in the Northeast, appealed to the business community, the Democratic-Republicans, based in the plantation South, to the planters and farmers.  By 1796, politics in every state was nearly monopolized by the two parties, with party newspapers and caucuses becoming especially effective tools to mobilize voters.

In foreign policy, the Federalists favored Britain because of its political stability and its close ties to American trade, while the Democratic-Republicans admired the French and the French Revolution. Jefferson was especially fearful that British aristocratic influences would undermine the new republic. Britain and France were at war from 1793 through 1815, with one brief interruption.  American policy was neutrality, with the Federalists hostile to France, and the Democratic-Republicans hostile to Britain.

During the election of 1800, Democratic-Republican and Federalist members of Congress met formally to nominate presidential candidates, a practice that was a precursor to the nominating conventions used today.  Jefferson established the American tradition of political parties as grassroots organizations that banded together smaller groups representing various interests, ran slates of candidates for office, and presented issue platforms.

Democratic-Republicans came to power in 1800, with Jefferson as President, as the Federalists were too elitist to compete effectively.

 

Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson became the third President of the U.S. in 1800.

The defeat of Adams in the election of 1800 and the death of Hamilton led to the decline of the Federalist Party from which it did not recover.  While there were still Federalists after 1800, the party never again enjoyed the power and influence it had held earlier.  The Federalists survived in the Northeast, but their refusal to support the War of 1812 against Great Britain was a devastating blow when the war ended well for the U.S. One of the Federalists Era’s greatest accomplishments was that America’s new republic survived and took root in the United States.

The Democratic-Republican Party, bolstered by successful presidential candidates Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe, was the sole surviving national party by 1820.  But, infighting soon caused the Democratic-Republicans to split into warring factions:  the (Andrew) Jacksonian faction, which became the modern Democratic Party, and the Anti-Jacksonian faction, which emerged as the Whig Party.

During these nation-establishment years, America doubled its size, and fought and won a second war with Great Britain.   For historical perspective, the table below lists the U.S. presidents during this period, their political party, and U.S. historic milestones.

Historic milestones during Federalist vs Democratic-Republican period.

Years	President	Political Party	Historic Milestones                        During Presidency
1789-1797	George Washington	none	Rhode Island, Vermont, Kentucky, Tennessee added as 13th-17th states.   First Bank of U.S. chartered.
1797-1801	John Adams	Federalist	Library of Congress established.
1801-1809	Thomas Jefferson	Democratic-Republican	Louisiana Purchase.   Lewis and Clark expedition.  Ohio added as 17th state.
1809-1817	James Madison	Democratic-Republican	War of 1812.  Louisiana, Indiana added as 18th,   19th  states.
1817-1825	James Monroe	Democratic-Republican	Mississippi, Illinois, Alabama, Maine, Missouri added as 20th-24th states.  Financial crisis of 1819.

 

Democrats vs. Whigs:  1824-1854   National Expansion

Two durable political parties with specific ideological positions and plans for running the government did not begin to develop until 1828.

In 1824, during the presidential administration of John Quincy Adams, who was elected as a Democratic-Republican, the party began to splinter.  The National Republican Party was formed by Adam’s supporters, while others supported so-called Jacksonian democracy espoused by Andrew Jackson.   In the presidential election of 1828, Jackson formed the Democratic Party and was elected president.  In 1833, the Whig Party, led by Henry Clay, was formed from the short-lived National Republican Party in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic Party.

During this period, from the late 1820s to the mid-1850s, these two major parties dominated the political landscape.

The Democrats supported the primacy of the Presidency over the other branches of government, and opposed both the Bank of the United States as well as modernizing programs that they felt would build up industry at the expense of the farmers.  Jackson was opposed to all banks, because he believed they were devices to cheat common people; he and many followers believed that only gold and silver could be money.

In 1820, universal white male suffrage was the norm.  Jacksonian democracy sought to broaden the public’s participation in government, and tried to eliminate property owner and tax payer requirements to vote, believing that voting rights should be extended to all white men.  By 1850, nearly all requirements to own property or pay taxes had been dropped.

 

Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the U.S., established the Democratic Party in 1828.

 

In national terms, the Jacksonians favored geographical expansion, justifying it in terms of Manifest Destiny - the belief that white Americans had a destiny to settle the American West and to expand control from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific.

Jacksonians also supported patronage, the policy of placing political supporters into appointed offices. Patronage was theorized to be good because it would encourage political participation by the common man and because it would make a politician more accountable for poor government service by his appointees.  Jacksonians also held that long tenure in the civil service was corrupting, so civil servants should be rotated out of office at regular intervals.

The Whigs, on the other hand, advocated the primacy of Congress over the executive branch, as well as policies of modernization, railroads, banking, and economic growth.

The Whigs generally opposed Manifest Destiny and expansion, saying the nation should build up its cities.

Whigs also opposed political patronage because it often led to the hiring of incompetent and sometimes corrupt officials due to the emphasis on party loyalty above any other qualifications.

The Whigs promoted schools and colleges.

 

Henry Clay founded the Whig Party in 1833.

  

Both parties initiated the practice of grassroots campaigning, including door-to-door canvassing of voters and party-sponsored picnics and rallies. Citizens voted in record numbers, with turnouts as high as 96% in some states.  Campaign buttons publicly displaying partisan affiliation came into vogue.

There was usually a consensus among both Jacksonians and Whigs that battles over slavery should be avoided. 

The early 1850s saw the collapse of the Whig party, largely because of a major intra-party split over slavery, many Whigs feeling that the U.S. was failing to respond to the threat of slavery's expansion, which was fast becoming the major national issue - one which many Northerners had come to care more deeply about than any other policy question.

The Jacksonian Era lasted roughly from Jackson’s 1828 election until the slavery issue became dominant after 1850 and the American Civil War dramatically reshaped American politics.

This period of national expansion saw America’s borders extend to the Pacific Ocean in the West and to Mexico in the South.  Native Americans were removed from their tribal lands and shipped west to accommodate westward expansion of white settlers.  Disputes over slavery came to the forefront and affected how states were added to the Union.   During this period there were three Democratic presidents and four Whig presidents, with two of the Whig presidents succeeding two Whig presidents who died in office.

Historic milestones during Democratic vs. Whig period.

Years	President	Political Party	Historic Milestones                                      During Presidency
1825-1829	John Quincy Adams	Democratic-Republican	Erie Canal completed.
1829-1837	Andrew Jackson	Democratic	Killed 2nd National Bank.  Oregon Trail opened.  Indian Removal Act.                  Texas War for Independence.  Arkansas added as 25th state.
1837-1841	Martin Van Buren	Democratic	Cherokee removal.   Michigan added as 26th state.
1841	William Henry Harrison	Whig	Harrison died after one month in office on 4/4/1841.
1841-1845	John Tyler	Whig	Texas annexed.
1845-1849	James Polk	Democratic	U.S. - Mexican War.  Florida, Texas, Iowa, Wisconsin added as 27th- 30th states.
1849-1850	Zachary Taylor	Whig	California Gold Rush.   Compromise of 1850.  Taylor died in office on 7/9/1850.
1850-1853	Millard Filmore	Whig	California added as 31st state.           Commodore Perry opened Japan.

 

Democrats vs. Republicans:  1854-1896   Civil War, Reconstruction, and Rapid Economic Growth

By 1854, the Whig Party was dissolving as a result of internal conflicts over patronage and disputes over the issue of slavery.  The Democratic Party, while divided over slavery, remained basically intact.

The Republican Party was formed in 1854 during a gathering of former Whigs, disillusioned Democrats, and members of the Free-Soil Party, a minor antislavery party.  After two Democratic presidents, by 1860, the two-party system consisting of the Democrats and Republicans was in place, and the anti-slavery Republicans came to prominence with the election of Abraham Lincoln.

 

In 1860, Abraham Lincoln became the first Republican to elected President of the U.S.

 

Civil war and Reconstruction issues polarized the parties through the 1870s.  These years were dominated by the new Republican Party (also known as the Grand Old Party or GOP), which claimed success in saving the Union, abolishing slavery, and enfranchising the newly freed African Americans, while adopting many Whiggish modernization programs such as national banks, railroads, high tariffs, homesteads, social spending (such as on greater Civil War veteran pension funding), and aid to land grant colleges.

Both parties became broad-based voting coalitions and the race issue pulled newly enfranchised African Americans into the Republican Party, while white southerners joined the Democratic Party. The Democratic coalition also had conservative pro-business Democrats, traditional Democrats in the North, and Catholic immigrants. The Republican coalition also consisted of businessmen, shop owners, skilled craftsmen, clerks, and professionals, who were attracted to the party's modernization policies. 

The 1870s and 1880s were a time of enormous growth that attracted millions of European immigrants. Railroads were the major industry, but the factory system, mining, and labor unions also gained in importance.  Despite the growth, there was serious cause for economic concern, which manifested in two major nationwide depressions, known as the Panic of 1873 and the Panic of 1893.  Furthermore, most of the growth and prosperity came in the North and West - states that had been part of the Union.  States in the South, part of the defeated Confederate States of America, remained economically devastated; their economies became increasingly tied to cotton and tobacco production, which suffered low prices.

African Americans in the south experienced the worst setbacks, as they were stripped of political power and voting rights.  In spite of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution (1868), granting African Americans the rights of citizenship and the right to vote, black voters were systematically turned away from state polling places. In response, Congress passed the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870, stating that the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.  Yet states still found ways to circumvent the Constitution and prevent blacks from voting.  Poll taxes, literacy tests, fraud and intimidation, grandfather clauses, all turned African Americans away from the polls.

In spite of two financial panics, the U.S. economy rose at the fastest rate in its history, with real wages, wealth, gross domestic product, and capital formation all increasing rapidly. National networks for transportation and communication were created.  The corporation became the dominant form of business organization, and a managerial revolution transformed business operations. By the beginning of the 20^th century, per capita income and industrial production in the United States led the world, with per capita incomes double that of Germany or France, and 50% higher than Britain.

Voter turnout was very high and often exceeded 80% or even 90% in some states, as the parties were adamant about rallying their loyal supporters.  The Democratic Party was in large part the opposition party during this period, although it often controlled the Senate or the House of Representatives, or both.  While most presidential elections were extremely close, the opposition Democrats won only the 1884 and 1892 elections. The northern and western states were largely Republican, save for closely balanced New York, Indiana, New Jersey, and Connecticut.  After 1874, the Democrats took control of the “Solid South.”

In addition to the historic issues discussed above, this period also saw continued national expansion, unrelenting warfare by the U.S. against Native Americans, and the assassination of two presidents, Lincoln and Garfield.

The table below lists the U.S. presidents during this period, their political party, and U.S. historic milestones. 

Historic Milestones during 1854-1896 Republican vs. Democratic period.

Years	President	Political Party	Historic Milestones                               During Presidency
1853-1857	Franklin Pierce	Democratic	Gadsden Purchase.
1857-1861	James Buchanan	Democratic	Dred Scott Decision.  Panic of 1857.  Transatlantic cable laid.  Minnesota, Oregon, Kansas added as 32nd - 34th state.  Comstock Lode discovered.
1861-1865	Abraham Lincoln	Republican	American Civil War.  Homestead Act.  Emancipation Proclamation.  West Virginia, Nevada added as 35th, 36th states.  Lincoln assassinated 4/15/1865.
1865-1869	Andrew Johnson	Republican	End of Civil War.  Territory of Alaska purchased.  Nebraska added as 37th state.  Johnson impeached but acquitted.
1869-1877	Ulysses S. Grant	Republican	First transcontinental railroad.  Panic of 1873.  Red River Indian War.  Battle of Little Bighorn.  Colorado added as 38th state.
1877-1881	Rutherford B. Hayes	Republican	Compromise of 1877- ending Reconstruction.  Nez Pierce War.
1881	James Garfield	Republican	Garfield shot July 2, died September 19.
1881-1885	Chester Arthur	Republican	Gunfight at OK Corral.  American Red Cross created.  Brooklyn Bridge completed.
1885-1889	Grover Cleveland	Democratic	AFL created.  Statue of Liberty dedicated.  Washington Monument built.
1889-1893	Benjamin Harrison	Republican	Oklahoma Land Rush.  Wounded Knee Massacre.  North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming added as 38th- 44th states.
1893-1897	Grover Cleveland	Democratic	Panic of 1893.  Klondike gold discovery.  Henry Ford built first auto.  Utah added as 45th state.

  

Democrats vs. Republicans:  1896-1933   Progressive Era

This political period saw the same Democratic and Republican parties in action, but there were major shifts in the central issues of debate.  It began after the Republicans blamed the Democrats for the Panic of 1893, a serious economic depression, which later resulted in William McKinley's victory over William Jennings Bryan in the 1896 presidential election.

The period, lasting through the start of the Great Depression, focused on domestic issues such as regulation of railroads and large corporations (“trusts”), the money issue (gold versus silver), the protective tariff, the role of labor unions, child labor, the need for a new banking system, corruption in party politics, primary elections, direct election of senators, racial segregation, efficiency in government, women’s suffrage, and control of immigration.  Foreign policy centered on the 1898 Spanish-American War, Imperialism, the Mexican Revolution, World War I, and the creation of the League of Nations.  The period was dominated by the Republican Party, excepting the 1912 split in which Democrat Woodrow Wilson held the White House for eight years. 

 

Woodrow Wilson, a Democratic Party leader of the Progressive Movement, after a policy of neutrality at the outbreak of World War I, led America into war in order to "make the world safe for democracy."

 

American history texts usually call it the Progressive Era, because of prominence of social activism and attempts at political reform.

Political parties were especially powerful in this period, when millions of people immigrated to the United States from Europe, many of whom resided in urban areas.  Party machines - cohesive, authoritarian command structures headed by bosses who exacted loyalty and services from underlings in return for jobs and favors, dominated political life in cities.  Machines helped immigrants obtain jobs, learn the laws of the land, gain citizenship, and take part in politics.

Because party machines controlled the government, they were able to sponsor public works programs, such as roads, sewers, and construction projects, as well as social welfare initiatives, which endeared them to their followers.  The ability of party bosses to organize voters made them a force to be reckoned with, even as their tactics were questionable and corruption was rampant.  Bosses such as William Tweed in New York were larger-than-life figures who used their powerful positions for personal gain.

Not everyone benefited from political machines.  There were some problems that machines either could not, or would not, deal with.  Industrialization and the rise of corporate giants created great disparities in wealth.  Dangerous working conditions existed in urban factories and rural coal mines.  Farmers faced falling prices for their products. 

Reformers who declared their independence from political parties, banded together in the 1880s and provided the foundation for the Progressive Movement.  Reformers blamed poor conditions on party corruption and inefficiency.  They alleged that party bosses were diverting funds that should be used to improve social conditions into their own pockets and keeping their incompetent friends in positions of power.

Progressives initiated reforms that lessened the parties’ hold over the electoral system.   Voters had been required to cast color-coded ballots provided by the parties, which meant that their vote choice was not confidential. The Progressives succeeded by 1896 in having most states implement a secret ballot, issued by the state that listed all parties and candidates.  This system allowed people to split their ticket when voting rather than requiring them to vote the party line.  The Progressives also hoped to lessen machines’ control over the candidate selection process.  They advocated a system of direct primary elections in which the public could participate rather than caucuses, or meetings of party elites.   The direct primary had been instituted in only a small number of states, such as Wisconsin, by the early years of the 20^th century. (The widespread use of direct primaries to select presidential candidates did not occur until the 1970s.)

The Progressives sought to end party machine dominance by eliminating the patronage system.  Instead, employment would be awarded on the basis of qualifications rather than party loyalty.  The merit system, now called the civil service, was instituted in 1883 with the passage of the Pendleton Act.  The merit system wounded political machines, although it did not eliminate them.

Progressive reformers ran for president under different party labels.  Former president Theodore Roosevelt split from the Republicans and ran as the Bull Moose Party candidate in 1912, and Robert LaFollette ran as the Progressive Party candidate in 1924.  Republican William Howard Taft defeated Roosevelt, and LaFollette lost to Republican Calvin Coolidge.

This was one of the most difficult periods of U.S. history, with two wars:  the Spanish American War and World War I, the Great Depression, and the Spanish Flu pandemic.  In addition, two presidents died in office, one from natural causes (Warren Harding) and the second from assassination (William McKinley).  On the positive side, the Panama Canal was completed and the age of airplanes and skyscrapers began.

 

Historic milestones during 1896-1933 Democratic vs. Republican period.

Years	President	Party	Historic Milestones                                                   During Presidency
1897-1901	William McKinley	Republican	Spanish-American War.  Hawaii annexed.  McKinley shot September 6, died September 14.
1901-1909	Theodore Roosevelt	Republican	Wright brothers first powered airplane flight.  Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.  Oklahoma  admitted as 46th state.
1909-1913	William Howard Taft	Republican	NAACP founded.  Titanic sunk.  New Mexico, Arizona admitted as 47th, 48th states.
1913-1921	Woodrow Wilson	Democratic	Panama Canal opened.  Income tax established.  FTC created.  World War I.  Spanish Flu pandemic.  Prohibition.  Women’s suffrage.
1921-1923	Warren Harding	Republican	Harding died in office August 2, 1923.
1923-1929	Calvin Coolidge	Republican	Teapot Dome Scandal.   Scopes Trial.  Lindberg cross-Atlantic solo flight.  Saint Valentine’s Day massacre.
1929-1933	Herbert Hoover	Republican	Great Depression.  Empire State Building opened.

  

Democrats vs. Republicans:  1933-1968   New Deal Coalition

Republicans began losing support after the Great Depression, giving rise to Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the activist New Deal.  Democrats promoted American liberalism, anchored in a coalition of specific liberal groups, especially ethno-religious constituencies (Catholics, Jews, African Americans), white Southerners, well-organized labor unions, urban machines, progressive intellectuals, and populist farm groups.

Opposition Republicans were split between a conservative wing, led by Ohio Senator Robert A. Taft, and a more successful moderate wing exemplified by the politics of Northeastern leaders such as Nelson Rockefeller, Jacob Javits, and Henry Cabot Lodge.

Democratic President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal program for leading the United States out of the Great Depression in the 1930s had dramatic effects on political parties. The New Deal placed the federal government in the pivotal role of ensuring the economic welfare of citizens.  Both major political parties recognized the importance of being close to the power center of government and established national headquarters in Washington, DC.

 

Franklin Roosevelt, U.S president from 1933-1945, strongly influenced American liberalism. 

 

An era of executive-centered government also began in the 1930s, as the power of the president was expanded. Roosevelt became the symbolic leader of the Democratic Party.  Locating parties’ control centers in the national capital eventually weakened them organizationally, as the basis of their support was at the local grassroots level.  National party leaders began to lose touch with their local affiliates and constituents.  Executive-centered government weakened parties’ ability to control the policy agenda.

Following in the footsteps of the extremely popular president Franklin Roosevelt, presidential candidates began to advertise their independence from parties and emphasized their own issue agendas even as they ran for office under the Democratic and Republican labels.   Presidents such as Dwight D. Eisenhower won elections based on personal, rather than partisan, appeals.

The economic philosophy of Franklin D. Roosevelt strongly influenced American liberalism, and shaped much of the party’s agenda since 1932.   Roosevelt’s New Deal coalition controlled the White House until 1968.

This period included World War II, the first use of atom bombs, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.  International organizations arose to increase security and economic progress.  Civil Rights, long-term health care, and nuclear proliferation became key issues. The space race began.  One president died in office (Roosevelt) and another was assassinated (Kennedy).  The first televised debate between presidential candidates, Richard Nixon and John Kennedy, occurred in the 1960 election.

Historic milestones during the 1933-1968 Democratic vs. Republican period.

Years	President	Party	Historic Milestones                                                 During Presidency
1933-1945	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Democratic	New Deal focus on relief, recovery, and reform.  Prohibition ended.  SEC, FHA, WPA, FBI, AA established.  Social Security, Selective Service Acts.  World War II.  G.I. Bill.  Roosevelt died in office 4/12/1945.
1945-1953	Harry S. Truman	Democratic	World War II ended.  Atom bombs used on Japan.  United Nations.  Marshall Plan.  Organization of American States.  NATO formed.  Koran War.  Term Limits for presidents.
1953-1961	Dwight Eisenhower	Republican	Korean War ended.  AFL/CIO merged.  Saint Lawrence Seaway approved.  Brown vs. Board of Education decision.  Jonas Salk developed polio vaccine.  Interstate Highway Act.  Civil Rights Acts (1957, 1960).  Space race begins with Sputnik.  First nuclear power station.  NASA formed.  Cuban Revolution.  Alaska, Hawaii added as 49th, 50th states.
1961-1963	John Kennedy	Democratic	Peace Corps established.  Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba.  Vietnam War.  OPEC formed.  Cuban Missile Crisis.  Kennedy shot/died 11/22/1963.
1963-1969	Lyndon Johnson	Democratic	Tonkin Gulf Incident.  Great Society programs.  Civil Rights (1964, 1968), Voting Rights Acts.  Medicaid, Medicare enacted.  HUD. DOT, NOW established.  Miranda Rights.  Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy assassinated.  Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

 

 Democrats vs. Republicans:  1968-present   Candidate-Centered Politics

New voter coalitions emerged gradually during the latter half of the 20^th century starting with the racially-based "Southern strategy," launched by 1964 GOP Presidential candidate Barry Goldwater and used successfully by Richard Nixon to attain the presidency in 1968. Conservatives and the Republican Party became dominant in the South, rural areas, and suburbs, while liberals and the Democratic Party built a coalition of African-Americans, Hispanics, and white urban progressives in the Northeast and coastal areas.

Political parties instituted a series of reforms beginning in the late 1960s amid concerns that party elites were not responsive to the public and operated secretively in so-called smoke-filled rooms. The Democrats were the first to act, forming the McGovern-Fraser Commission to revamp the presidential nominating system.  The commission’s reforms, adopted in 1972, allowed additional average voters to serve as delegates to the national party nominating convention, where the presidential candidate was chosen. The result was that many state Democratic parties switched from caucuses, where convention delegates were selected primarily by party leaders, to primary elections, which made it easier for the public to take part. The Republican Party soon followed with its own reforms that resulted in states adopting primaries.

 

Ronald Reagan, President of the U.S. from 1981-1989, was a highly influential voice of modern conservatism.

 

Democrat Jimmy Carter, a little-known Georgia governor and party outsider, was one of the first presidential candidates to run a successful campaign by appealing to voters directly through the media. After Carter’s victory, candidate-centered presidential campaigns became the norm.

The unintended consequence of reform was to diminish the influence of political parties in the electoral process and to promote the candidate-centered politics that exists today. Candidates built personal campaign organizations rather than rely on party support. The media contributed to the rise of candidate-centered politics.  Candidates appealed directly to the public through television rather than working their way through the party apparatus when running for election.  Candidates used social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, to connect with voters.  Campaign professionals and media consultants assumed many of the responsibilities previously held by parties, such as developing election strategies and getting voters to the polls.

This period included wars in Vietnam, Granada, the Middle East, and Afghanistan.  The Cold War with the Soviet Union ended, but the War on Terror began when militant Islamists attacked the U.S. on September 11, 2011. Americans landed on the Moon, and orbited the Earth in Space Stations.  Racial injustice, abortion, sexual preference, heath care, illegal immigration, climate change, nuclear proliferation, fake news, and domestic terror attacks became key issues.   Political scandals rocked the country.  The world suffered a lethal pandemic.  One president resigned from office (Nixon) and another was impeached twice (Trump).

 

Historic milestones during the 1968-present Democratic vs. Republican period.

Years	President	Party	Historic Milestones                                                During Presidency
1969-1974	Richard Nixon	Republican	First Moon landing.  PBS, EPA created.  18-year-old vote.  Pentagon Papers published.  Nixon visited China.  ABM Treaty with Russia.  Watergate Scandal.  Roe vs. Wade decision.  Skylab launched.  Nixon resigned 8/9/1974.
1974-1977	Gerald Ford	Republican	Trans-Alaska Pipeline.  Vietnam War ended.
1977-1981	Jimmy Carter	Democratic	Three Mile Island Nuclear Accident.  Iran Hostage Crisis.
1981-1989	Ronald Reagan	Republican	End of Iran Hostage Crisis.  First Space Shuttle launched.  U.S. invaded Granada.  Iran Contra Affair.  Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
1989-1993	George H.W. Bush	Republican	War on Drugs proclaimed.  Fall of Berlin Wall.  Gulf War in Middle East.  World Wide Web introduced.  Cold War ends; USSR dissolved.
1993-2001	Bill Clinton	Democratic	World Trade Center truck bomb.  Waco Texas standoff.  Don’t ask, don’t tell.  North American Free Trade Agreement.  Oklahoma City Bombing.  Clinton-Lewinsky scandal.  Clinton impeached, but acquitted.
2001-2009	George W. Bush	Republican	September 11, 2001 attacks.  U.S. invades Afghanistan.  DHS created.  U.S. invaded Iraq - Operation Iraqi Freedom.  Hurricane Katrina.  Global financial crisis.
2009-2017	Barack Obama	Democratic	Tea Party protests.  Osama bin Laden killed.  Eric Snowden leaked classified documents.  Boston Marathon terrorist attack.  Shuttle program ended.  Obamacare.  Black Lives Matter movement emerged.  Same-sex wedding legalized.  Iran Nuclear Deal.
2017-2021	Donald Trump	Republican	Me Too Movement began.  Withdrawal from Russian nuclear agreements, Climate Change agreement, Iran Nuclear Deal.  Trump met with North Korean leader.  Significant south-border wall progress.  Longest government shutdown.  Pre-pandemic economic success.  Middle East peace agreements.  Trump impeached, but acquitted.  Corona Virus pandemic.  Covid-19 vaccines.
2021-	Joe Biden	Democratic	TBD

 

 Presidential Election Voting for Competing Parties

Joe Biden is the 46^th President of the United States.  One of our presidents, Grover Cleveland, served two terms as president, one before and one after the presidency of Benjamin Harrison, so he counts twice as both the 22^nd and 24^th president.   So that’s 45 different people who have been president.  See the figure below.  You may need to increase the magnification of this figure on whatever device you’re reading this on, to see the detail on their terms of office.

 

The 46 presidents in United States history and their terms in office.

  

Of the 45 individuals who were American presidents, nine of them assumed office from the vice presidency when their presidents died in office, were assassinated, or resigned.  This includes Tyler, Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, Arthur, Theodore Roosevelt, Coolidge, Truman, Lyndon Johnson, and Ford.  Only Theodore Roosevelt, Coolidge, Truman, and Lyndon Johnson were elected to the presidency in the term that followed their ascension from the vice presidency.

The chart below shows the political party voting results for the 59 presidential elections held in American history.  Suggestion:  You should try to view this chart at about double size (200%) to see the details.

The bar chart runs historically from left to right, showing the percentage vote split between competing parties for each election, with the election year identified at the bottom of the chart.  The Arabic numbers across the top of the chart identify the numerical-order presidency, corresponding to the figure above for all presidents.  So, for instance, Donald Trump is shown as the 45^th president.  The Roman Numerals across the top of the chart identify the numerical-order of the election.  So, Ronald Reagan’s second term resulted from the 50^th election for president.  The vertical bars for each election are color-coded, according to the percentage of votes achieved by each party, using the color key shown below the election year.  Short vertical lines with arrowheads within the bars identify the presential terms where the vice president (in parentheses) ascended to the presidency, as discussed above.  The symbols at the very bottom of the chart identify special circumstances for particular elections.

 

Political party voting results in U.S. presidential elections.

 

Note that two elections were decided by the House of Representatives.  In the 1800 election, the House vote broke a tie in electoral votes, electing Thomas Jefferson.  And in 1824, without a plurality in electoral votes, the House elected John Quincy Adams.

Note also that George W. Bush’s election in 2000 was finalized by the Supreme Court, settling a dispute over Florida’s votes.

Five elections were won without a plurality of the popular vote.   These include John Quincy Adams in 1824, Hayes is 1876, Harrison in 1888, George W. Bush in 2000, and Donald Trump in 2016.

Snapshot of Political Parties Today

Politics today in the United States is a two-party system dominated by the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The Democratic Party has positioned itself as liberal and progressive, supporting labor in economic as well as social matters, while the Republican Party supports an American conservative platform, with further foundations in economic liberalism, fiscal conservatism, and social conservatism.

Democrats promote social programs, labor unions, consumer protection, workplace safety regulation, equal opportunity, disability rights, racial equality, regulations against environmental pollution, and criminal justice reform. Democrats also tend to support abortion rights and the LGBT community, as well as a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.  Democrats typically agree with the scientific consensus on climate change and favor an approach in foreign policy that features international alliances.

The Republican Party's economic conservatism involves support for lower taxes, free market capitalism, deregulation of corporations, and restrictions on labor unions. The party's social conservatism includes support for gun rights and other traditional values, often with a Christian foundation, including restrictions on abortion.  In foreign policy, Republicans usually favor increased military spending, unilateral action, and anti-Communist revolutions. Other Republican positions include restrictions on immigration, opposition to drug legalization, and support for school choice.

Around a third (33%) of registered voters in the U.S. today identify as Democrats, while 29% identify as Republicans, and 34% identify as independents.  Most independents lean toward one of the two major parties.  When taking independents’ partisan leanings into account, 49% of all registered voters either identify as Democrats or lean to the party, 44% identify as Republicans or lean to the GOP.

In the November 2020 presidential election, a record 159,633,396 votes were cast, with a record percentage of eligible voter participation of 66.7%.  Joe Biden won 51.3% of the votes, Donald Trump won 46.8%, and third-party candidates or others picked up 1.9%.

Problems with Political Parties Today

Many “experts” think that our two-party system has divided the country into two irreconcilable groups:  one that sees itself as representing the multicultural values of cosmopolitan cities (the Democrats) and the other that sees itself as representing the Christian values of the traditionalist countryside (Republicans).  Both believe that they are the true America.  The many individuals and smaller groups that don’t fit neatly into these parties have no other place to go. 

The bitter fight between Democrats and Republicans that has polarized our politics has largely ground government to a halt.  Partisans on both sides are so angry that they barely speak to each other, much less work together.  This hostility is a direct cause of gridlock.  Each side bases their political agenda on demonizing the other side.  Each party treats politics as war and wants to “win at all costs.”  There is no room for compromise.

The public wants something different.  A Pew Research Center study found that over the last 30 years, the nation has grown more partisan and Congress has become less effective.  Recent polls show that over 80% of the public disapprove of Congress, and that two-thirds want new political parties.  This disgust for the status quo is why voters in both parties are flocking to “outsider” candidates like Senator Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump.  (Also, the way we conduct primary elections gives fringe voters great influence.  Primaries usually have very low voter turnout and the people on the fringes of the parties vote disproportionally in them.)

The consequences of the weakening of our political parties have been candidate-centered elections that produce uglier campaigns that focus more on personal attacks than on substantive policy issues, since the focus is on candidates rather than party platforms.

Big money is a problem for our political system and political parties.  Most Americans aren’t engaged directly in the election process.  Hence the money is spent on biased advertising where the public is engaged:  television, direct mail, those maddening political robocalls, and increasingly, social media and other online platforms.  Major donors and bundlers get disproportionate influence because their money is needed to get elected.

Another problem is so-called dark money - political spending by nonprofit organizations - for example certain social welfare, unions, and trade association groups - that are not required to disclose their donors. Such organizations can receive unlimited donations from corporations, individuals, and unions.  In this way, their donors can spend funds to influence elections, without voters knowing where the money came from. 

And then there’s media focus on PR soundbites and bias towards sensationalism over substance.  Lately, media’s blatant bias towards or against particular candidates has also been evident.

 

Final thought:  America’s Founders warned against the formation of political parties, fearing that “factions” would arise, resulting in conflict and stagnation. The American political system has now operated for 225 years with political parties, and indeed seems today to be replete with conflict and stagnation, and to many, our politics appear broken.  What can we do?  What should be do?  Something for all of us all to think about.