Alexander Hamilton's Two-Party System
Throughout the United States protests are breaking out everywhere over a multitude of problems. The common theme among all of them is that there are two sides to the problem, no more, no less. This is precisely what is tearing our country apart – partisanship in the two-party system. If our first president George Washington were here today he would be highly disappointed in how our system of government is run by two parties. In his own words, " They serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put, in the place of the delegated will of the nation the will of a party, often small but artful and enterprising minority of the community; and according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make public
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Hamilton and Jefferson had conflicting ideas on almost every issue, from how to interpret the Constitution, to who should lead the United States. As Hamilton and Jefferson gathered supporters, they both established parties. Hamilton created the Federalist Party ( the modern day equivalent to the Democratic Party). Federalists liked big national government; as opposed to Jefferson's Republican Party, which liked small national government to give more power to states. In the past, Republicans and Democrats have worked together and compromised on issues involving the country. However, recently, compromise is not being reached between the two parties.This has naturally created a divide in our country, which has only been amplified in recent presidential elections. In the words of former U.S ambassador Antonio Garza, "We've allowed ourselves to slide into the politics of anger and fear, of a group of name-calling, where the others – be they immigrants, bankers or supporters of the other candidate – are stupid, crazy, or corrupt. We've forgotten that these nameless individuals are often our neighbors, doctors, teachers, friends and family members" (Garza, 2). As illustrated by the quote, the supporters of both parties and the parties themselves are not working together. Instead, Republicans are too focused on stopping the Democratic party, and Democrats are too focused on stopping the Republican
Hamilton and Jefferson had conflicting ideas on almost every issue, from how to interpret the Constitution, to who should lead the United States. As Hamilton and Jefferson gathered supporters, they both established parties. Hamilton created the Federalist Party ( the modern day equivalent to the Democratic Party). Federalists liked big national government; as opposed to Jefferson's Republican Party, which liked small national government to give more power to states. In the past, Republicans and Democrats have worked together and compromised on issues involving the country. However, recently, compromise is not being reached between the two parties.This has naturally created a divide in our country, which has only been amplified in recent presidential elections. In the words of former U.S ambassador Antonio Garza, "We've allowed ourselves to slide into the politics of anger and fear, of a group of name-calling, where the others – be they immigrants, bankers or supporters of the other candidate – are stupid, crazy, or corrupt. We've forgotten that these nameless individuals are often our neighbors, doctors, teachers, friends and family members" (Garza, 2). As illustrated by the quote, the supporters of both parties and the parties themselves are not working together. Instead, Republicans are too focused on stopping the Democratic party, and Democrats are too focused on stopping the Republican