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Beginning of the Party System
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Alexander Hamilton Forms the Federalist Party
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Election of Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson led the Democratic-Republicans against Hamilton's Federalists. This election shows a final switch of voters to his party. The Democratic-Republicans appealed to the Southern voters, and they kept that hold for several years. -
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Foundations of the Modern Political Party System
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Election of Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was elected as a Democrat. This party split from the Deomcratic-Republicans, and asserted its dominance on the political stage. The opposition that formed was the Whig party.
Here one can see a party realignment, as Democrats take the Westerners and Southerners, while the Whigs take the more industrial group. -
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Election of Martin Van Buren
He aided in the creation of the Whigs, so that the Democrats could have an opposition.
http://www.ipl.org/div/potus/mvanburen.html -
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Dred Scott v. Sandford
The Supreme Court that ruled that people of African descent imported into the United States and held as slaves, or their descendants were not protected by the Constitution and could never be citizens of the US. The Court also ruled that because slaves were not citizens, they could not sue in court. Congress battledover the extension of slavery to the new states and teritories. IThe issue of slavery dominated American politics and split both the Whigs and the Democrats. -
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Republican Eras
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Election of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln won as the first Republican president. Here the country realigned on the issue of slavery. The Republican party took a great deal of voters based solely on the idea of ending slavery. -
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Election of William McKinley
William McKinley won as a Republican, and with him came enormous support for the Republican party. He beat out William Jennings Bryan, and through this election, the American voter base realigned to the Republican stance. This election also showed developments in party campaigning, such as focusing on contested states and raising vast sums of money. -
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Reemergence of the Democratic Party
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President Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover
President Herbert Hoover's handling of the Depression turned out to be terrible for the Republicans. There will not be another Republican President for the next 20 years. -
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Election of Franklin D. Roosevelt
FDR was elected as the Great Depression took hold. He won a sweeping victory, as voters heavily realigned to the Democratic Party. Voters who had traditionally not strayed from the Republican line, largely flipped to the Democratic Party, as FDR promised to bring the Great Depression to an end. -
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Divided Government
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Election of Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon winning the presidency in the election of 1969 was the first time in the twentieth century, a president and Congress were not of the same party. We had a Republican President and a Democratic Congress. -
Election of Ronald Reagan
He won a landslide victory for the Republicans.
www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/ronaldreagan -
Election of Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton's election in 1992 briefly resotred united party government until the Republicans won both houses of Congress in the 1994 elections. -
Election of Barack Obama
Barack ObamaIn 2006, the voters chose for a divided government by giving the Democrats majorites in both congressional chamers. By election Barack Obama to the presidency in 2008 along with a Democratic Congress, voters restored unified party government for at least the next two years.
