Evolution of Political Parties
The Many Political Parties of the United States, courtesy of slideplayer.com
Since the ratification of the Constitution of the United States, we have operated under a two political party system. President George Washington didn’t run under a political party; he didn’t like the idea of political parties. The two major parties at the time were the Federalist Party and the Democratic-Republican Party. They dominated the federal elections until Abraham Lincoln was elected in 1860, with four Presidents elected before 1860, representing the Whig Party, William Henry Harrison (March 4, 1841 — April 4, 1841), John Tyler (April 4, 1841 — March 4, 1845), Zachary Taylor (March 4, 1849 — July 9, 1850), and Millard Fillmore (July 9, 1850 — March 4, 1853). The Democratic-Republican Party began to become the Democratic Party since the election of Andrew Jackson in 1828. In 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th President, representing the newly formed Republican Party.