US political parties

Résumé du document

The Democratic Party is one of the two major parties in the United States, and also one of the oldest in the world. It was first known as the Democratic-Republican Party founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1793. Under Jackson's presidency the party was divided in two. A faction which followed Jackson named the Democratic-Republican 'the party of common man' and the other called National Republican Party ruled by John Quincy Adams. Since it was founded, the Party moved between the left wing and the center. In 1800, Jefferson was elected president followed by James Madison in 1808 and James Monroe in 1816. There were a lot of split opinions among them. First, their ideas about ruling the country. Alexander Hamilton advocated a strong central government and a republic governed by elites whereas Jefferson and his close collaborator Madison emphasized the State Rights.

Extraits

[...] The Republican Party This party is the second major party in the USA, although the Democratic Party is older it is also called (for Grand Old Party but it seems that original meaning was “Gallant Old Party”). History: It was founded in 1854 by a coalition of formers Whigs, Northern Democrats and Free-soilers (as they disagree Democratic opinion on slavery).But it is still composed of many informal factions. Abraham Lincoln is the 1st Republican President of the USA. After the war of secession and the victory of the North in 1865, Republicans dominated the political landscape until 1932. [...]

[...] During the cold war, John F. Kennedy tried to calm down the tension with the Soviet Block after the Cuban Missile crisis, the construction of the Berlin Wall, the failed of the Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba. President Lyndon B. Johnson succeeded in passing major civil rights laws ( racial integration in the south). Voters: The party benefits from the vote of African-Americans, organised labourers, Jews and Homosexuals. Actuality: No Democrat win the absolute majority since Jimmy Carter in 1976. [...]

[...] Since 1856, Republicans have won 23 of the 38 presidential elections. The Party is composed of two wings: one qualified as moderated and the other as conservative. Voter: In 2000 elections we noticed that the party benefited of the vote of Evangelical, Catholics and Protestants. Until Franklin Roosevelt the Party also benefited from the vote of Blacks (because of its opposition on slavery). But more generally we noticed that rural areas and the majority of suburbs vote for Republicans. Initially it had its base in the Northeast and the Midwest but in recent years it moved to the inland West and South. [...]

[...] Platform: They favoured free trade and strong individual liberties. They want: to abolish the welfare State and income taxes reducing the other taxes, a privatization of Social Security, the abolition of minimal wage, that the State stop interfering in foreign business and that its role to be limited to the protection of individual rights. They back freedom of speech, of association and sexual freedom (but they are divided in the area of abortion but agree with same-sex marriages) and support guns rights. [...]

[...] Democrats thought that they should act in the international area and with the backing of strong alliances. But like we see under Bush presidency, the USA don't care a lot about the support of other nation talk about the war in Iraq) as they attempt to spread democracy around the world by interfering the politic background of other countries (forced implication of USA in world business). USA Patriot Act: Most of members of the Democratic party were agree with this act (remember that I was just after the September 11th 2001) but there is a split about its renewal. [...]