Jefferson Republican Party

Jefferson-Republican Party

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  Jefferson-Republican Party

A political party is a group of individuals that come together in support of certain public policies. In most cases the group is usually composed of voters. Members of A political party often select certain leaders that then take the forefront in achieving their objectives. In America the uprising of political parties begun in the early 1790’s.The Jeffersonian republicans formed the Democratic-Republican Party, which was the first opposition political party in the United States. (Dunn, 2004)

This began during the reign of President George Washington. They had initially come together as opponents of the federal government who were against the new federal constitution that had been passed in 1787.Then at around 1791, a revolt began, and Thomas Jefferson at that time was serving the president’s first secretary of state. Jefferson’s supporters were mainly against the monarchial system of government in America at that time. These people wanted a strict interpretation of the constitution. On the other hand, there was a group of people that did not want a strict following of the constitution and were great supporters of the monarchial government .These people were led by Alexander Hamilton who was by then the secretary of the treasury. (Brian, 2012)

The main reason that brought them thus together was the opposition of the then monarch system. This system gave the central government so much power to rule over the people without putting into consideration the needs and views of the people. They wanted a system whereby people’s ideas would be put into consideration in the decision making processes of the country. However, Alexander Hamilton and his supporters viewed this as a way to agitate people and the saw this as a stunt to lower their power. . (Dunn, 2004)

These two disagreements later led to the support of different countries among the two differing parties. Hamilton’s group thus became federalists as they supported the federal constitution and thus supported Britain whereas Jefferson’s group became known as the democratic republicans and supported France. The main reason that led to the downfall of the federalists in my view is concentrating all the power and decision making efforts at the top. Their favoring of the monarchial government thus meant that they did not take in different views from other ideas. For normal functioning of a system, different perspectives should always be sought and this might have contributed a huge part to their failure. (Norman, 1994)

Also, the fact that they did not want to follow the constitution strictly and abide by it can also be a factor. A constitution is a set of rules set down by a committee that is ought to be followed by a given community or country and its law makers for the smooth running of the set laws. When followed to the later, most people end up having to live comfortably because they understand each consequence of their actions and what the law says about it. The republicans thus succeeded because they wanted the constitution to be followed to the latter. They also accepted views from several people and were primarily against the monarchial concentration of power among the hands of the then rulers of the nation. (Dunn, 2004)

The issues of democrats and republicans still remains an issue in the current government system. There are democrats that believe in democracy, they believe in a government of the people and by the people. They believe that people choose their own representatives in whom they believe in and that these people then represent them adequately in the parliament sittings and all the other forums. The republicans however, still believe in a centralized mode of government. Therefore these two parties currently in the U.S are always often in opposition of one another. (Norman, 1994)

In partisan politics, a certain member of a political party, strongly supports their party’s views and are often reluctant to compromise their view with that of their opponent. In my view, partisan politics is not a good method for solving the nation’s problems and advancing the nations interest. This is because it gives one a one sided approach to solving issues.one gets so stuck to their party’s belief that even if their opponent has a better solution, it will be disregarded because of the difference in party memberships, whereas if the view would have come from an individual in the same party it probably would have been accepted. Therefore, it is a good strategy but not definitely the best. (Brian, 2012)

In the present two party systems, the minor parties have very little impact on the issues of the elections. This is mainly because in a two party system, the main parties dominate and in the U.S. these are the republicans and the democrats. In these systems, the winner often makes it all. The minor parties are therefore in most cases ignored. The alternative views they offer are often not put into consideration and there is no provision for inter party compromise. In the present two party system the minor parties rarely get elected into office. The farthest most reach is the local government. Therefore their issues are rarely addressed. (Dunn, 2004)

They can also greatly affect a candidate of the two main parties’ votes if they present a strong candidate and therefore, towards elections the two main parties always have to influence them effectively. In conclusion, the two party system in my view is obsolete and should be abolished and replaced by a multiparty system. This is more democratic and gives all candidates a fair chance at clinching any coveted posts. It would also increase the chances of obtaining alternative views from several individuals which is, by and large, for the benefit of our country as a whole. (Cunningham et al, 1963)

References

Brian Steele, 2012, Thomas Jefferson and American Nationhood, Cambridge University Press

Cunningham, Noble E., 1963. The Jeffersonian Republicans in Power: Party Operations, 1801–

1809. Chapel Hill, N.C.: Univ. of North Carolina Press

Norman K. Risjord, 1994, Thomas Jefferson American Profiles, Rowman and Littlefield

Susan Dunn, 2004, Jefferson’s Second Revolution: The election of 1800 and the triumph of

republicanism Houghton Mifflin, Harcourt.

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