In recent years there has been much speculation about an ever growing divisiveness in the American political arena. Some commentators have remarked that bi-partisanship seems to have disappeared from national politics, pointing out that votes on health care reform and other major bills in recent years have fallen roughly along political party lines. This raises the questions though of what is the source of this bitter hatred among politicians and what can be done about it. The origins of America’s political divisions can be found in the very founding of the country.
From the very beginning of America there have been deep-seated arguments between political parties. On November 22 1877, before the country was even begun, James Madison, under the name of Publius, wrote the political paper which would become known as Federalist 10. This article, arguing in support of the ratification of the Constitution, warned against the development of “factions” in the young republic to be. He described these factions as “a number of citizens, whether amounting to a minority or majority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community.” There was concern that if one of these factions grew too big or too powerful it would stifle the rights of other citizens and destroy the liberty that had been won during the American Revolution. Already by this time there were groups of people forming together and organizing themselves to shape and mold the future of the young country. Ironically, Madison himself would grow to have a prominent role in the solidification of these factions, or political parties as we know them today.
The Federalist Papers, as the writing of Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay in support of the ratification of the Constitution would later be known, represented the view of one such faction, the Federalists. Opposed to them and against the ratification of the Constitution and abolishment of The Article of Confederation, the first government to control the former British colonies. The Federalist supported the idea that the United states should chose a republican form of government because it would presumably defer the effect that wildly enflamed passions stoked by demagogues could have on the nation. This is why they originally established for the direct election of the House of Representatives and for the Senate to be chosen by the state legislature, although this was later amended by the seventeenth amendment which allowed for direct election of Senators.
The election of George Washington in 1790 was the only election under which there were no nationally active political parties. Around 1792 Thomas Jefferson and James Madison formed the Democratic-Republican party to oppose the Federalist party, which was formed during the previous year by Alexander Hamilton. These two parties clashed over every issue facing the young country, from Franco-American and Anglo-American relations to the proper interpretation of the Constitution. The Democratic-Republicans were in fact an alliance of two factions, one with differing opinions on tariff rates, on the appropriate level of government spending, on the establishment of a standing army, and on the proper amount of support for public works. These fractious debates culminated in 1824 with the splintering of the party into the Whig party and the modern Democratic party. These parties were the dominant parties until 1854. They primary argued over the expansion of slavery into the growing country. They also argued over the proper rate of expansion of the country in the first place. The Whig party however was ultimately undone bay these arguments within itself, with the anti-slavery section of the Whig party successfully blocking the renomination of its sitting president, Millard Fillmore.
Since 1854 the dominant forces in American politics have been the Democratic party and the Republican party. These to political power houses have fulfilled one of the fears that Madison address in Federalist 10, the creation of permanent national majorities. The permanence and effervescence of these parties owes in no small part to a shrinking country. When Madison originally said that it would be difficult for permanent national parties to form he was speaking of a true impossibility for his time, a time when mail from Boston to Washington D.C could take several days. In the modern times when a message can be sent from one side of the world to another, it is almost inevitable that permanent political parties would rise. Even today though there are fractures within the parties. Just as the Democratic-Republicans and Whig parties had fractures within their parties are there liberals, moderates, and conservatives in the Democratic party as well as in the Republican party. There are members of either party that support abortion and also support financial reform. Both sides have members in support of gun control and in support of loosening gun restrictions.
It is possible that the political parties have moved away from the voters at this moment though. The debate and arguments between the individual members of Congress has grown more fracticious and heated, with epitats and curses have been used openly on the House and Senate floor. Over the past decade Presidential attack ads have grown increasingly nasty and vehement. Politicians have taken to using fear tactics to try and win votes and discourage their opposition. Attack ads have grown increasingly personal and vicious. Several ads have played up racial fears and insecurities and sunk to trying to elicit as much fear and consternation out of their audiences as possible. At the same time, however there is evidence that the electorate has become more moderate. Many states have ceased to be considered safe states in national elections, forcing politicians to spend time in those states to ensure the support of voters that were once considered secure.
This can be seen in the shifting geographic strongholds of the two major parties over time. At its founding the modern Democratic party had support in the majority of the country, with the exception of New England, where the Whig party had its base. The Republican party was originally a primarily regional party, with its support coming almost entirely from the Northern states. This trend reversed, with the Republican party becoming the national powerhouse following Reconstruction, and the Democratic party being reigned to a regional party based in the south. The south was referred to as the “Solid South” for Democrats. Despite occasional Democratic wins of the presidency, the Republicans remained firmly in control of the White House until Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt instituted the New Deal after Republican Herbert Hoover’s inaction during the Great Depression. The Democratic Party once again became the national party, unifying a Conservative bloc of Southern voters with a more liberal base of support, lasting through the New Deal but ultimately losing the Conservative support following the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Following 1964 The Democratic major bases of support can be found in New England, the Mid-Atlantic, Great Lakes, and the Pacific Coast, including Hawaii. The Republican part currently is the dominant party in the Central part of the country and across the South.
There remains a question of how long the growing divide between the two parties can continue. Some political theorists say that strong debate and disagreements between the parties are good for the future of the country because if politicians must make strong arguments to over come objections from their opposition that we should derive better laws due to the fierce debates that go into constructing the laws. Other students of politics state that the above can only hold true if there are attempts to reconcile the debates and objections to parts of bills that arise during the political process. These political scholars point out the recent debate over health care, where the bill was passed despite strong Republican objections, and with only a token attempt to solicit Republican input.
For the two party system which has become an American tradition despite early Federalist concerns to continue to function, however both parties must make an effort to ensure that Democrats and Republicans uphold their parts of the bargain. The two parties cannot sustain a system where Democrats refuses to include all Republican amendments and proposals to bills. At the same time, Republicans cannot hope to sustain a policy of obstructionism and refusal to work with their counterparts in both the House and Senate and hope that the Democratic measures fail. When assuming the office Senators and Representatives take an oath of office pledging that they “will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter.” Among the duties of the House of Representatives and Congress are to pass the laws that will allow this country to operate successfully. Obstructionism as a political theory will only get in the way of the proper working of the government, and lead to increased fractionalization and decreased public confidence in government.