The philosopher Confucius argues
that virtuous rulers must lead by
example, for laws alone cannot make
people just or moral.

We are divided by political parties, the divide is getting wider, and we might want to admit that it isn’t benefiting us. The more we associate ourselves with a specific party/group, the more we lose our ability to think independently and we eliminate what might be the best choice. Even if we believe something to be true, it can be difficult to admit when it’s not. As Mark Twain said, “It’s not what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just isn’t so.”

Parties change, and we have to keep up with that change because sometimes we need to change groups or leave a group. Andrew Jackson altered Jefferson’s Democratic-Republican Party. Abraham Lincoln anchored the creation of the New Republican Party. Franklin Roosevelt revived the Democratic Party which almost disappeared after the Civil War. Donald Trump altered Lincoln’s and Teddy Roosevelt’s Republican Party. 

The Founders of the United States warned against political parties, believing politics should be rational and collaborative, not competitive. Over time, Americans have increasingly voted for their party’s nominee rather than the individual. Simultaneously, Americans have been finding nothing but contempt for the opponent. This trend has risen since the 1970s, particularly in the 2016 national election.

Registered voters in 2024 were/are evenly split between the two major parties. It’s been this way for the last 30 years. 49% of registered voters are Democrats or lean toward the Democratic Party, and a nearly identical share – 48% – are Republicans or lean toward the Republican Party.  There are voters within the two parties who identify as independents. The percentage of voters in 2024, compared to the last 30 years, who do not vote for straight-party tickets has stayed the same for the Republican party (15%) but decreased for the Democratic Party from 16% to 12%. This suggests there is a little more dissatisfaction within the Republican Party than there is the Democratic in 2024.

  • 33% of all registered voters are ideologically conservative and as one would guess associate with the Republican Party.
  • 14% of registered voters describe their views as liberal or moderate and as one might not guess also associate with the Republican Party or are Republican leaners.
  • 23% of all registered voters say they are liberal and align with the Democratic Party.
  • 25% of all registered voters describe their views as either conservative or moderate and associate with the Democratic Party.

The most recent significant shift in party affiliation occurred when large numbers of Southern state Democrats became Republicans after President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  For the Democratic party, it was a change by subtraction; for the Republican party, it was a change by addition.

This data would be more interesting if Presidents were elected by popular vote but they are not. Instead, candidates are elected by an Electoral College. Each of the 50 states receives electoral votes equal to its total congressional (Senators + Representatives) delegation. Since all states have two Senators and a minimum of one congressional district, the fewest electoral votes a state can have is three. Although not a state, the District of Columbia (DC) receives 3a electoral votes. Therefore, the total electoral votes is 538, reflecting 100 Senators + 435 Representatives + 3 for DC. The number of congressional districts in each state is determined by its Census population.

All but two states use a winner-take-all system to apportion their electoral votes (Maine and Nebraska are the only two states that don’t). For example, a state with 100 electoral votes where 49% of the popular votes went for candidate A and 51% went for candidate B, all 100 electoral votes would go to candidate B. This means that popular votes for candidate A were changed and given to candidate B. In this case all 100 electoral votes were given to candidate B. That’s why there are swing (purple) states. In swing states, the popular vote is fairly evenly divided between the two candidates and a small difference would still give 100% of that state’s electoral votes to only one of the two candidates.

As an aside, since congressional districts are proportional to population but Senate seats are not, the net effect is that states with lower populations are over-represented in the Electoral College. In contrast, those with the largest population are under-represented.

Democrats and Republicans are present in our everyday lives as neighbors, co-workers, and friends, and it’s often difficult to tell someone’s political affiliation unless we talk politics or see a yard sign. Despite this, we tend to hold a harsh view of the “other” party, which is usually unrealistic and inaccurate. Our emotions can cloud our judgment, causing us to be gullible and making it harder to keep a balanced view.

It would seem like there is a need to break free from the bonds of political party affiliations that divide us and make it harder to keep our nation moving forward with balance.

In study after study, social psychologists have shown that the group with which we identify, not individual personality, often determines behavior. We began to see what the group saw and stopped seeing some of the things that we were seeing.

But, and this is a big but, pull us out of a group, and we will have more nuance, flexibility, and doubt. We are not so sure anymore as individuals outside of our group, whereas in a group, we are convinced of what we say and do.

We probably don’t remember when or why we affiliated with a Party. But we probably are locked in now. Let’s explore that affiliation. Understanding the history of political parties is crucial to our political literacy. We didn’t have political parties when George Washington was President. I repeat, the Founders of the United States warned against political parties as they believed politics should be rational and collaborative, not competitive. Political parties gradually formed as we figured out what our fledgling country needed from Washington, D.C., such as a central bank and national policy.

Long before there were Republicans and Democrats, there were Federalists led by Alexander Hamilton and Anti-Federalists led by Thomas Jefferson. The Federalists became the first American political party in 1787. They were businessmen and merchants who wanted a strong central government to protect industry. The Anti-Federalists were primarily small farmers and planters who wished for a smaller government that wouldn’t interfere with their lives. They would later form a party called the Democratic-Republicans.

In 1828, the United States elected Andrew Jackson, a pro-slavery Southerner. He changed the Democratic-Republican Party’s name to the Democrats. His opponents changed the Federalist Party’s name to the Whig Party.  Based on the constituency, the newly renamed Democratic Party was still full of Democratic-Republicans but it was ripe for its eventual splitting between North and South and did so during the 1860 Presidential election, whose results were a precursor to our Civil War. 

Members of the Southern Democratic Party faction were pro-slavery and pro-states’ rights. The Northern Party faction was for popular sovereignty, which would allow the White people of each state to decide the issue of slavery.

Shortly after, the Whig Party quickly faded away and was replaced by Lincoln’s Republican Party. The 1860 presidential election was a historic moment in American politics, as it was a time of great division and turmoil in the country. The four parties that participated in the election were the Northern faction Democratic Party, the Republican Party, the Constitutional Union Party, and the Southern faction Democratic Party. 

The Democratic Party (Northern and Southern factions) was the dominant party at the time but was split over the issue of slavery. The southern faction supported the expansion of slavery into new territories, and another opposed it. As a result, the party nominated two candidates for president: Stephen A. Douglas, who represented the northern faction, and John C. Breckinridge, who represented the southern faction.

The Republican Party, which was a relatively new party formed in 1854, opposed the expansion of slavery and nominated Abraham Lincoln as its presidential candidate. Lincoln’s election platform was based on the idea that slavery was a moral wrong and should not be allowed to spread to new territories. 

The Constitutional Union Party was formed by a group of former Whigs and Know-Nothings who opposed the sectionalism and extremism of the other parties. They nominated John Bell as their candidate, and their platform was based on preserving the Union and avoiding the issue of slavery altogether.

The Southern Democratic Party was formed by a group of Democrats who were unhappy with the nomination of Douglas and believed that he was not committed enough to the defense of slavery. They nominated Breckinridge as their candidate, and their platform was based on the idea of protecting the institution of slavery and the rights of slaveholders.

Lincoln won the election, receiving a majority of the electoral votes despite not appearing on the ballot in ten southern states. His victory was a major turning point in American history, leading to the secession of several southern states and the start of the American Civil War.

After the Civil War, the Republicans grew, and the Democrats shrunk. Republicans favored business interests and taxes on imports, while Democrats supported free trade and attracted farmers and immigrants. Democrats didn’t expand until 1932, when Franklin Roosevelt created economic relief and social security. They wanted the federal government to actively help those affected by the Depression, while Republicans, being more pro-business, preferred not to burden business with those costs.

Parties change. Affiliations change. Neither Party is your father’s or grandmother’s Party or even your Party any more even though most people refuse to recognize the changes or be aware of the history of changes.

Research that includes brain maps, gene pool analysis, and unconscious attitudes suggests that people who prefer a simple vision of good and evil, are cognitively inflexible, are fond of hierarchy, are inordinately uncomfortable with uncertainty, change, and death, and are unaware of their unconscious trepidation tend to vote Republican. Republicans want to spend on the military and the military-industrial complex. Conversely, people who are more open-minded, adaptable, and value equality tend to vote Democratic.

Parties often seem to veer into strangeness and both major parties have done so. It’s good to have a two-party system to allow our votes to help them get on an acceptable path.

“The average American doesn’t think we have to completely tear down the system to remake it. There are a lot of persuadable voters in both Parties who just want to see things make sense. They don’t want to see crazy stuff.”

A former American President.