Parties In American Politics

Parties were destined to play a central role in American politics ever since the introduction of representative democracy in the United States after the establishment of the US constitution in 1788. The founding fathers of American agreed that direct democracy would be detrimental to US society. James Madison wrote in the the Federalist papers 10 that direct democracy would create the tyranny of the majority, whereby political decisions would favor the majority and disregard the interests of the minority. Representative democracy was the resulting equilibrium: protecting individual rights, while giving citizens a voice. Though parties were not officially part of the American constitution, the existence of a constitutional republic made the rise of parties inevitable and influential. Direct democracy …show more content…
Many people decide their political identification in their childhood even if the decision is subconscious. Highly influenced by family and more extensive social and environmental factors, younger people often build a political identity that never changes (Flanigan et al 100). Studies have shown that children are very likely to vote for the party that their parents identify with. A Gallup poll showed that, despite fluctuations, ‘7 in 10 teens say their social and political ideology is about the same as mom and dad’s’ (Gallup Poll 2005). As many teens grow older, however, they are influenced by more environmental factors and deviate from their parent’s political identity (Flanigan et al 132). Interestingly, parents that are insistent that their children embrace their own political identities often provoke their children to change their political identity later in life (Elias Dinas; Patterson). On the other hand, children with parents of distinct political identities, are less likely to develop a strong loyalty to a party (Flanigan et al