At the beginning of the 19th century, two significant parties appeared on the American political field. They were the Democratic Party (1824) and the Republican Party (1854). The development of these two parties made the United States of America one of those nations, where two different ideologies were supported on a national level and had equal access to executive power that they used alternately.
The Democratic Party and the Republican Party have many differences in their colours, stands, philosophies, and symbols, but they are united by one strong goal that is to make the United States of America the most powerful nation and provide its citizens with the opportunities to live wealthy and happily.
First of all, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party have different symbols and colours that make them memorable for the population. The democratic donkey is considered to be a symbol that signifies something “humble, homely, smart, courageous and loveable” (Anderson 44).
However, the Republicans think that the democratic donkey is nothing more than a stubborn and silly animal. On their turn, Democrats regard the republican elephant as a stupid and conservative symbol that does not underline American supremacy and uniqueness, and the Republicans admit that their elephant how “dignified, strong and intelligent” (Anderson 44) this animal is and how precisely it underlines the Americans’ nature.
In spite of the fact that the division of colours is informal and unofficial, media and public can easily recognize the party according to its colour. Till the year 2000, not much attention has been paid to the colours of the parties. However, the elections of the 43rd President of the United State were under so hot discussions, that the whole political field was divided in accordance with their colours: red states were for George W. Bush and blue states provided Al Gore with the necessary support.
The positions of the parties also differ considerably in various spheres of life. For example, on the economical field, Democrats stand for the empowerment of individual workers in order to strengthen the economy.
Americans have to be provided with the necessary compensation and treatment, and corporate fraud has to be abolished or, at least, controlled by the government. Republicans try to maintain the policies of large companies. In order to develop American corporations, it is crucially important to lower taxes and stimulate corporations but not workers (Long 238).
Social positions of the Democratic and Republican Parties are undergone changes within a short period of time, but still, their different nature is quite noticeable and worthy of attention.
Democrats prove that the idea of personal choice and liberty has to be the most important one in the United States. Only under such conditions, people turn out to be responsible for their thoughts, actions, and outcomes. According to the democratic point of view, the government has to provide people with a chance to choose and make decision independently.
In comparison to such free and undependable position, the ideas of Republicans seem to be rather restrictive, because they propose a strong control over people by the government. Morals and values have to be the same for each citizen, and only the government has enough power and authority to impose people follow certain rules and instructions. Only under such governmental control, the country may achieve great results and success in all spheres of life.
All these differences may create one simple question concerning how these two absolutely different parties may exist within one country, communicate peacefully, and provide the development of their country on different levels and in different spheres of life.
However, when we talk about the similarities of the Democratic and Republican Parties, we have to take into consideration the fact that these parties aim at developing the prosperity and success of the United States. The representatives of these two parties try to offer more and more effective ways in order to create really powerful nation and gain recognition around the whole world.
One more similarity of Democrats and Republicans is not that positive, but still influential: these parties care their business first of all, and only then they start carrying about their people. On my opinion, it is one of those features that are inherent to any political party of any country. However, maybe this very point makes these parties really powerful and reliable for the nation.
In general, “political parties are thus intrinsic to political life and a source of continual internal conflict in all states” (Schramm and Wilson 17). The Democratic and Republican political parties are the two major parties in the United States of America, which, in spite of their numerous differences, aim at promoting America as the most powerful states in the world.
Their philosophies and ideas are so different and even absolutely controversial, but such diversity is the one that provide USA with a chance to choose an appropriate way for success, taking into consideration current events and conditions. The parties supplement each other, and I think that the absence or collapse of one of the parties under consideration may certainly lead to the failure of another.
Works Cited
Anderson, Dale. The Democratic Party: America’s Oldest Party. Minneapolis, MN: White-Thomson Publishing, Ltd., 2007.
Long, John, D. The Republican Party: Its History, Principles, and Policies. BiblioBazaar, 2008.
Schramm, Peter, W and Wilson, Bradford. American Political Parties and Constitutional Politics. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 1993.