The History of Political Parties in America; From the Beginning to the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

The foundation of the first political parties in America was not for seizing power, but due to philosophical and political disagreements. In the tenth Federalist (essays written regarding the U.S. Constitution), James Madison (1751-1836) referred to the destructive thoughts of those who are enemies of freedom. The individuals Madison referred to included Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), the Secretary of the Treasury, George Washington (1732-1799), the first President of the United States, and John Adams (1735-1826), the first Vice President (and later, the second President of the U.S.), who were leaders and founders of the first political party in America, the Federalist Party. On the other side, Hamilton's opponents, led by Madison (the fifth President of the U.S.) and Thomas Jefferson (1743-1846, the third President of the U.S.), founded the Democratic-Republican Party. The disagreement was over the content of the Constitution. Federalists believed in a powerful central government in both economic and military domains, while the Democratic-Republican Party favored state power and a smaller central government. All the leaders and founders of the first political parties in America were philosophers and political theorists, and their disagreements were not only about power but had a theoretical basis. These individuals are also known as the 'Founding Fathers of America,' and in fact, the founders of America were also the founders of political parties. In other words, America and its political parties share common fathers. However, the Federalist Party had a short lifespan and lost its popularity after being defeated by the Democratic-Republican Party in the 1800 election. It is important to note that 216 years ago, parties were not political institutions like today, and their popularity was more dependent on their leaders. When the leaders of the Federalist Party retired and returned home, the Federalist Party also disappeared. With the elimination of the Federalist Party, the disagreements between them and the Democratic-Republicans also disappeared, and the latter had no national competitor. However, this time the disagreement appeared within the Democratic-Republican Party. In the 1824 election, the party did not select a specific candidate, and John Quincy Adams (1767-1848), Andrew Jackson (1767-1845), William Crawford, and Henry Clay competed among themselves. This election was highly controversial. Andrew Jackson received the most popular votes but did not win the most electoral votes. The election was taken to the House of Representatives, where the Speaker of the House, Henry Clay, who was fourth in electoral votes, supported John Adams, and he was elected as the sixth President of the United States. He appointed Clay as his Secretary of State and accused Jackson's campaign of corruption. During this period, party labels were not effective, and the title Democratic-Republican did not fully cover all individuals. In the next election (1828), Andrew Jackson entered the election on behalf of the Democratic-Republican Party and defeated the sitting President, Adams, who represented the 'National Republicans' (not to be confused with today's Republican Party). From that date onward, Jackson's party became known as the Democratic Party and has operated under this title to this day. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are representatives of the Democratic Party in this year's election. Disagreements among political leaders gradually escalated to larger issues. The most significant example of these issues was slavery, which led America into a civil war. The 'Whig' Party replaced the 'National Republicans' from 1836 to 1852. William Henry Harrison was elected as the first member of this party on March 4, 1841, as the ninth President of the United States, but his presidency lasted only 32 days, making him the first President to die in office. After him, his Vice President John Tyler from the Whig Party succeeded him as President. Zachary Taylor was another representative of this party who was elected as the twelfth President of the United States. After Taylor, Millard Fillmore became the last member of the Whig Party (the thirteenth) to be President of the United States. When Fillmore received only 8 electoral votes in the 1856 election and lost the competition to James Buchanan (the fifteenth President of the United States) and James Fremont (the first candidate from today's Republican Party), the Whig Party also ended its existence. Besides these two parties, two other parties were active at that time: the 'Free Soil' Party and the 'Liberty' Party, but they never won elections. In 1854, former members of the Whig Party and the Free Soil Party, along with some anti-slavery activists, all from northern states, established the Republican Party and began to operate as a serious competitor to the Democrats, who supported slavery. In 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected as the first President from the Republican Party and the sixteenth President of the United States. However, he was also the first President to be assassinated. Since then, the Democratic and Republican Parties have been the main and powerful parties in America. No other party has been able to win the presidential election or gain a majority in Congress. The history of parties in America, from that date to today, is the history of the Democratic and Republican Parties.