Presidential parties

History of Parties

The first American political parties were in the 1790’s and 1800’s. Those parties were the Federalists, based on George Washington and John Adams, and the Democratic Republicans led by Thomas Jefferson. Many parties have been in charge over the years. The modern political parties started when slavery started to happen.The Republicans said slavery should stop. The Democrats split over whether to stop or support slavery, but most Democrats who lived in the south supported slavery.

The Democratic party

Today, the Democratic Party believes that they should help people solve everyday problems and aid businesses in making decisions. The Democratic Party was made in the 1820’s. The Democratic Party’s symbol is a donkey because a political cartoonist tried to make the democrats look stubborn by turning them into a donkey.

The Republican Party

The Republican Party believes that people should run their own businesses and make their own money. The Republican Party was formed in 1854. An elephant is the symbol of the Republicans because the same cartoonist who turned Democrats into donkeys made the Republicans into a clumsy elephant walking into a trap a Democratic donkey set.

Choosing Parties

You can choose a political party by filling out a registration form. A person can vote in a general election no matter what, but they usually cannot vote in a primary election if they do not choose the party that is having the primary election. This does not happen in all states.

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