Political Parties

Political parties are one of the earliest available and visible institutions in a democracy. A political party is an association of people who come together on a common platform with the objective of contesting elections. A political party has three components-leaders, active members and followers. The main functions of political parties are to contest election, put forward policies and programs, make laws, form a government, perform role of opposition, share public opinion and undertake welfare activities. Political parties are necessary because they lay down foundations of a strong representative democracy. 

Political parties have been a presence in American politics since the nation’s infancy. The federalists and Democratic-Republicans were the first two parties to emerge in the late 1700s. In 1832, the Democratic Party held the first national presidential nomination convention to nominate Andrew Jackson, and the Whig party formed around opposition to the president. The democratic and Whig parties strengthened for several years until the issue of slavery led to the Whig party’s gradual dissolution and replacement by the Republican Party. From 1860 to this day, the same two political parties, Democratic and Republican, have dominated elections in the United States.

The national party organization sits at the top of the party system. A chairperson leads the national party, and every four years the national committee of each party organizes a national convention to nominate a candidate for the presidency. The state and local parties are the heart of political activism, as virtually all government regulation of political parties is left to the states. The state governing body generally called the state central or executive committee supervises the collection of local party organizations. For 200 years, the two party systems have served as the mechanism American society uses to organize and resolve social and political conflict. The two major parties provide vital services to society, include running candidates for office, proposing and formulating policy, organizing government and furthering unity, linkage, and accountability.