2. Introduction
A political party is a group of voters organized to support certain public policies.
The aim of a political party is to elect officials who will try to carry out the party's policies.
When people in a democracy disagree about what the government should do, voters express their opinions by voting for the candidates that most closely reflect their views.
Political parties provide a way for voters to easily identify a candidate's positions.
Political parties may be large or small, national or local. Large political parties generally have millions of members and supporters.
In democratic election campaigns, parties compete freely for votes.

3. US politics
There will always be people who disagree about how the government should function and how much control they should have.
This can be seen in the differences of opinions within the colonies and how they should be run.
There was also the conflict with England and then the Loyalist and Patriots.
The Articles of Confederation provided the states with all the power. The Central Government had very limited authority.
When it became obvious that the Articles of Confederation were not effective the state representatives came together in the Constitutional Convention to establish a new form of government that provided a stronger Central Government in the Constitution.

4. US politics
The Constitution was divisive. The Federalists supported a stronger Central government which held the ultimate control and power.
Those who opposed to the Constitution, the Antifederalists supported a government with more local state control.
Next we can see that as George Washington selected his cabinet, there was immediate division within the group.
Alexander Hamilton is appointed at the first Secretary of Treasury and Thomas Jefferson as the first Secretary of State.
Immediately there is a controversy regarding the Bank and how the Constitution will be interpreted.

5. US politics
Hamilton representing the Federalist point of view believes in a strong Central government and assumes a loose interpretation of the Constitution.
Hamilton and the Federalists also support reestablishing ties with England as a means of creating a source of income through trade and taxes.
Thomas Jefferson and James Madison on the other hand represent the Democratic – Republicans.
They believe in a very strict interpretation of the Constitution. They did not agree that the Central government had the authority to establish a National Bank.
They also felt an obligation to support France in their Revolution and not England.

6. Evolution of the US political parties
The Federalist v. the Anti Federalists
The Federalists v. the Democratic Republicans
Andrew Jackson changes the Democratic Republicans become the Democrats
The Federalists team up with people opposed to Jackson and form the the National Republicans or the Whig Party.
The 1850’s brought a division in the country with the Civil War and as such sectionalism drew people into different political groups.
The pro slavery south formed the Democratic Party and the North assumed the position of a newly formed Republican Party.

7. Democrats and Republicans
The defeat of the Southern Confederacy in the Civil War weakened the Democrats.
For many years the Republicans were the major party They favored business interests and high tariffs.
The Democrats supported free trade and attracted farmers and the immigrants who poured into the country after the Civil War.
The election of 1932 brought in Roosevelt Democrats that thought that the federal government must actively help people who had been hurt by the Depression.
Under the New Deal the government passed economic relief measures, social security, laws helping unions, and other bills.
Republicans thought the government was taking too much power and moving the country toward a welfare state. They fought against governmental interference with business.

8. Democrats and Republicans
Today both parties agree in general on social security, unemployment insurance, basic foreign policy, and civil rights.
The issues on which they disagree often are not goals so much as means: how best to keep the economy growing, protect the environment, and maintain a strong national defense.
In general, Republicans tend to oppose government programs as solutions to national problems.
Democrats tend to believe that government can and should act for good.
However, the parties' views on government's role often depend on the specific issue or program in question.