1.The Development of Political Parties

Although the US Constitution does not provide for political parties，two factions soon emerged during the ratification of the Constitution.One group was called Federalists led by Alexander Hamilton.They favored business development，a strong national government，and a loose interpretation of the Constitution¹.The followers of Thomas Jefferson，called Antifederalists or Democratic-Republicans，called for a society based on small farms，a relatively weak central government，and a strict interpretation of the Constitution².The roots of today’s Republican Party lie in the Federalists，while the Democrats can trace their beginnings back to Antifederalists or Democratic-Republicans.

During Andrew Jackson’s administration（1829-1837），the Democratic-Republican Party was changed into Democratic Party.It was the leading party before the Civil War and Thomas Jefferson was usually thought the first Democratic President.The Federalist Party began to decline when Jefferson became President in 1800.In 1820sthe Federalists actually disappeared.In 1834anew party called Whig was founded and became a major party before the Civil War.When the Whigs broke up in 1850s，they were replaced by the Republican Party.The Republican Party came into being in 1854.It was a party of the northern capitalists who opposed slavery from their own political and economic interests.Abraham Lincoln was usually considered as the first Republican President.During the Civil War the Democratic Party split and the Southern Democrats gained the dominant position in the party.The Democratic Party，at least partly，defended the slavery and was thus blamed for the rebellion against the Union.Because of its infamous reputation in the war，the Democratic Party lost much of its influence on American political life and remained obscure for some years.Although the Democrats and Republicans alternated in controlling Congress，only two Democratic presidents，Grover Cleveland（1884-1888，1892-1896）and Woodrow Wilson（1912-1920），were elected up to 1932.The Republican Party’s pro-business positions played well in the industrial North and Midwest，while the Democrats held the“solid South.”The large number of immigrants that came to the United States together with the growing industrial work force laid the basis for strong，largely Democratic，political machines in New York，Chicago，and other large cities.