US Two-Party System Timeline

  • Anti-Federalists

    opposed ratification of the Constitution;believe in limited government; Thomas Jefferson
  • Federalist Party

    originated in opposition to the Democratic-Republican Party in the United States; support a strong national government
  • Democratic-Republicans

    believed that the Constitution was a strict document that purposely limited the power of the government. Believed that the government could not adopt more power other then that stated in the Constitution.
  • Jacksonian Democrats

    believed in a democracy ruled by the common man; encouraged national expansion and hands-off economic policies
  • party of Lincoln

    The Republican Party is an organization; the Party of Lincoln is an idea. The Republican Party exists to bridge interests and support the mechanics of elections; the Party of Lincoln answers the questions “why and for what?”
  • Modern Republicans

    preserved individual freedom and the market economy yet insured that government would provide necessary assistance to workers who had lost their jobs or to the ill or aged, who through no fault of their own
  • Roosevelt Democrats

    believe that a party platform is a covenant with the people to have [sic] faithfully kept by the party when entrusted with power, and that the people are entitled to know in plain words the terms of the contract to which they are asked to subscribe.
  • Modern Democrats

    Believe in low military spending, support immigration, and are pro-abortion. Democrats are open to new change and reforms. Pro-GunControl and typically support more government invol