Many years ago during a school trip to the Lincoln monument I asked a friend of mine, “What is the difference between Democrats and Republicans, and why don’t they get along”? To my surprise he was unable to give me an answer, so I decided to ask the other kids from our class the same question and discovered a disconcerting fact, most people don’t know what types of political parties exist and are even more at a loss as to which one they want to support. In this paper the two major contemporary political parties in the United States – Democratic Party and Republican Party – will be discussed. They are similar in that they are both political parties with the well being of the country at heart. Democratic and Republican differences will be discussed in detail in this paper because it is the differences that impact the laws and/or legislation will mean depending on what party proposes them. Although both Democrats and Republicans are members of congress, they differ in their political views, the economy, and what they stand for as a group; hence, influencing or impacting the lives of the American people. This will be the running theme of this paper.
The modern Democratic Party was once referred to as the Democratic-Republican Party during the time of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. The Democratic-Republican Party began as an anti federalist group, opposed to strong, centralized government. The party was officially established at a national nominating convention in 1832. It dropped the Republican portion of its name in 1840 (Farlex, Inc., 2012). The party has the longest record of continuous service in the United States, and is one of the oldest political parties in the world. Throughout its history, the party has favored farmers, laborers, labor unions, as well as religious and ethnic minorities; it has opposed unregulated business and finance, and been in favor of progressive income taxes. The party currently...