Is there a difference between the political parties of the past and those of the present?

By carrot14, Park City, UT

 

If the politicians of the 18th century were to travel forward in time, and have a conference with the same parties of the 21st century would there be much of a difference? What would they change, if anything? Would it be the same if the parties of now traveled back in time? Here are some ideas to prove that the Republicans, and Democrats of now aren’t that different that the Republicans and Federalists of the 18th century.
The Republican Side:

The Republicans of the 18th Century, and the 21st century are extremely similar. One of the ways they are similar is that both of the Republican parties believe in a strict interpretation of the Constitution. Back in the 18th century, they wanted a strict interpretation of the Constitution because they wanted to limit the power of the government, reserving power for the State government. The Republicans of now want the strict interpretation of the Constitution also because they can then so that the laws of the U.S. that were put into place at the beginning of the country will be followed. Also they don’t want people getting confused over what the specific laws of the country are.

Another way the two Republican parties are the same is that they are kind of Pro-War. Kind of pro-war because nobody want to be in a war, or have a war, but the Republican parties both believed in reciprocation. Because the French helped the U.S. in their Revolutionary War, the Republicans believed that we should help them out in their Revolutionary War. The same thing goes for now, with the War on Terror. The U.S. is helping out the people in Iraq, and hoping that if the U.S. needs help that Iraq will help.

Probably, the most important thing to both of the Republican parties of then, and now, is that the PEOPLE should govern. That was important in the 18th century because the country was brand new, and the government needed to listen to the people’s ideas. It was also important that the people should govern because then ANYone would be able to lead, and the people would be able to choose who they wanted to govern, instead of having it be one family. It is important to have the people govern now because the government needs to hear what the people are saying about what they want from the government.

The Federalists/Democrat Side:

Though the parties have different names, the Federalists of the 18th century and the Democrats of the 21st century are pretty much the same. One of the similarities between the Federalists and the Democrats is that they both believe in having national government programs. In the 18th century, the Federalists wanted a National Bank. The Democrats of now want Nationalized Health-Care. The two programs have the same concept, it’s mandatory, weather you want it or not. Some people want it, but some people don’t. There will always be arguments over government run programs, but what the people want they get most of the time if the government listens to them.

The Democrats/Federalists also believe that there should be restrictions on Speech and Press. They believed that because they wanted the government to have a good image in other countries. Also they wanted the people in remote places to have a good idea of the government. The Democrats of now want some restrictions on Speech and Press for pretty much the same reasons.

There are many more ways in which the Republicans and Democrats of now, and the Republicans and Federalists of the 18th century are similar. There are many ideas that aren’t included in this paper, but most of the major ones are. 

 

 Source: http://www.teenink.com/nonfiction/all/article/209460/Is-there-a-difference-between-the-political-parties-of-the-past-and-those-of-the-present/