Major Political Parties in the US sample essay

The two major political parties in the United States are Republican Party and Democratic Party. The Republican Party controls 21 state legislatures, while the Democratic Party controls 19. Democratic Party is to the left.

Republican Party was organized in 1854 in Wisconsin. The main goal of the party on the earlier stages was to oppose the expansion of slavery in the United States at those times. It should not be confused with National Republican Party of Henry Clay, or with Democratic-Republican Party of Thomas Jefferson. His party was later on split into two parties, Democratic and the Whig Party. Out of these two, only the Democratic Party survived to this day, and now it is the second oldest political party in the world (the oldest is Tories in the United Kingdom). It was founded in 1792. It is to the left of the Republican Party, but not as leftist as labor or social democrats.

In year 2000 the two major parties had chances to rule the country. For the first time since 1952 the Republicans gained control over the United States with the victory of George W. Bush. His main rival that year was Al Gore from the Democratic Party. The popularity of Republicans kept growing with the plans to fight global terrorism.

Both Republican and Democratic parties consist of different factions, or groups. Each faction has its own specific views and interests, even though some of them belong to one party. The Republican Party of the United States currently has seven factions: Paleoconservatives, Log Cabin Republicans, Libertarians, Moderates, Fiscal Conservatives, Neoconservatives, and Religious Right. Prominent figures from these factions include Arnold Schwarzenegger, Colin Powell, Rudolph Guiliani (Moderates), Pat Robertson, Rick Santorum, John Ashcroft (Religious Rights), Ron Paul (Libertarian), and Pat Buchanan (Paleoconservative). The Democratic Party comprises only five factions: Centrists, Progressives, Labor, Liberals, and Conservatives. Prominent figures include Bill and Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry (Centrists), John Conyers (Progressive), Ted Kennedy (Liberal), Ben Nelson, Ike Skelton, and Gene Taylor (Conservatives).

To classify the two parties by their political idealogies, Republicans adhere to conservatism, while the Democrats view liberalism and third way as their political ideolodies. The symbols are blue jackass for Democrats, and red/blue elephant for Republicans. The two parties have their own stories and many notable issues, but it is impossible to include all the details in this short essay.

Bibliography

1. Republican Party. Wikipedia the free encyclopedia. Web-site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_%28United_States%29. 2005.

2. Democratic Party. Wikipedia the free encyclopedia. Web-site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_%28United_States%29. 2005.
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