I am sure you have heard, at least once in your life, about the United States Presidential Election and the political parties: they talk about it on the news, in newspapers, on the radio, everywhere. If you haven’t, let me tell you a little about them and the process of electing a president there.
Firstly, we’ll talk about the political parties. In the 1850s, after the US became a republic, two parties were nominated: the Republican one and the Democratic one. The democrats have changed a lot since the 19th century; at that time, the party supported slavery and it opposed civil rights. Democrats were never chosen for the presidency, but they dominated in the southern part of the US because almost everyone there blamed the republicans for the American Civil War and the Reconstruction. When Democratic candidate Grover Cleveland won the elections (1885-1889 and 1893-1897), it led to one of the worst times of that century with America sinking into a big economic depression. The party was conservative and agrarian-oriented, opposing the interests of big businesses (especially protective tariffs) and favoring cheap-money policies, which were aimed at maintaining low-interest rates. They lost a lot of supporters, but thanks to Franklin D. Roosevelt they regained the presidency in 1932. The president managed to form a new coalition; this helped them win the elections again and again. Currently, the party has better orientations, as mentioned on their website: “Democrats are the party of inclusion. We know that diversity is not our problem—it is our promise. As Democrats, we respect differences of perspective and belief, and pledge to work together to move this country forward, even when we disagree ... we do not merely seek common ground—we strive to reach the higher ground”. They fight for equality, justice, and opportunity for all, in contrast to their first beliefs. To list some of the well-known democratic presidents: Joe Biden (who just won the 2020 elections against republican Donald Trump), Barack Obama (2009-2017), Bill Clinton (1993-2001), John F. Kennedy (1961-1963) and the list can still go on.
As for the Republicans, they stood against the extension of slavery to the country’s new territories and, ultimately, for slavery’s complete abolition. During the 20th and 21st centuries, the party came to be associated with laissez-faire capitalism, low taxes, and conservative social policies. The Republican Party traces its roots to the 1850s when anti-slavery leaders (including former members of the Democratic, Whig, and Free-Soil parties) joined forces to oppose the extension of slavery to Kansas and Nebraska by the proposed Kansas-Nebraska Act. They nominated John C. Frémont for the first election, but they lost. Abraham Lincoln managed to win, but the American Civil War started soon after that. He freed the rebelling slaves by signing the Emancipation Proclamation. Slavery was abolished after signing the Thirteenth Amendment. Sometimes this party can be referred to as Lincoln’s party, because of his historical key role in the future of the country. Donald Trump (2017-2021), George W. Bush (2001-2009) are some well-known Republican presidents.
There has always been a strong battle between these two parties and in my opinion, this will continue for a long time. People nowadays are torn between choosing who to support, but everyone has the right to have an opinion. There were some tensions after the elections, but I will cover that in another article.
Yes, Diana, I understand there are 2 major parties, but still… I don’t get how elections work there. Well, my dearest readers, I know this is what you’ve been waiting for and this is when things get interesting! My favorite part of today’s politics lesson, to be honest.
Well, in case you’ve watched the news at the beginning of November 2020 (November 3rd to be precise), I bet that you’ve heard about the United States presidential election (the 59th in their history). You could be in any corner of the world; there is no country/ state it hasn’t been mentioned in. I am going to explain how their system works and what they have to do to win in Part 2.
Editor- Raul Spânu & Brianna Știucă
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