英美概况uni10.pptVIP

V. Political Parties What are the two major parties in US? Are there a lot of differences between the two parties? 1. The Evolution of Political Parties in US In late 18th century the debate over the ratification of the Constitution gave rise to the first 2 major parties---the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists . The Federalists represented north-eastern commercial, banking, and trade interests, and advocated a strong central government while the Anti-Federalists stood for the interests of farmers, laborers and people with little property and wanted limited federal government power and more state power. Most of the Anti-Federalists later accepted the Constitution with the Bill of Rights, and began to call themselves Democratic-Republicans with Thomas Jefferson as their standard bearer. After the election of Jefferson as the 3rd president of the US in 1800, the Federalists declined and disintegrated. After the 1828 election of Andrew Jackson, the Democratic-Republican Party split. The main faction, led by Andrew Jackson, called themselves the Democratic Party, while the faction opposed to Jackson formed the Whig Party in 1834. The Democratic Party represented the interests of cotton plantation owners, old south slave-owners, western frontiersmen and farmers and it upheld the slavery system. The Whig Party stood mainly for northern commercial and industrial interests and opposed Jackson’s economic policies. The majority of the Whig Party, part of the democrats, and other antislavery elements founded in 1854 the Republican Party. Abraham Lincoln, as candidate of the Republic Party, was elected President in 1860. The 3rd phase of the 2-party system ran from the 1860s to the 1920s with the Republican Party dominating the political scene for most of the time. Franklin Roosevelt and “Roosevelt coalition” The 4th period began with Franklin Roosevelt’s coming into power and lasted until the 1980s. 2. Traditional Images of the 2 parties The Democrats have been c