In his farewell address, George Washington addressed the new two-party system, “However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion” (Washington). Although George Washington understood the need for the two-party system, he was fearful that in the end it would evolve into something completely different that would endanger the democracy. Since the creation of the two-party system over 200 years ago, the parties certainly have
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The Democratic Party and the Republican Party have changed in the past 200 years to the point where not much is accomplished in the Legislative branch. The two-party system has become a competition between the parties rather than cooperation in order to achieve the greater good for the country as a whole. In fact, in a poll from 2012, only about 14% of Americans believed that the federal government works (Darrell West). When two parties focus more on their own ambitions, the good of the country is overlooked and it leads to an unsuccessful governing body. This has been a concern since the birth of the country; the second president, John Adams, voiced his thoughts on the two-party system, “There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader, and concerting measures in opposition to each other. This, in my humble apprehension, is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution (Adams). The counterargument claims that the United States government was designed and intended to be adversarial (Darrell West). Without the differing ideas between the parties the American people cannot accurately be represented. The two-party system was designed to represent the American people to the best of its ability and
The Democratic Party and the Republican Party have changed in the past 200 years to the point where not much is accomplished in the Legislative branch. The two-party system has become a competition between the parties rather than cooperation in order to achieve the greater good for the country as a whole. In fact, in a poll from 2012, only about 14% of Americans believed that the federal government works (Darrell West). When two parties focus more on their own ambitions, the good of the country is overlooked and it leads to an unsuccessful governing body. This has been a concern since the birth of the country; the second president, John Adams, voiced his thoughts on the two-party system, “There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader, and concerting measures in opposition to each other. This, in my humble apprehension, is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution (Adams). The counterargument claims that the United States government was designed and intended to be adversarial (Darrell West). Without the differing ideas between the parties the American people cannot accurately be represented. The two-party system was designed to represent the American people to the best of its ability and