HISTORY OF AMERICAN ideologies
As you can see from the timeline, the evolution of our two party system was a complicated one. People from the Democratic Party were not necessarily liberals and Republicans could have been argued to be the more liberal party before the Southern Strategy implemented after the Civil Rights Movement. The political ideologies and consequentially the splinter parties that arise are constantly evolving with the economy, the state of affairs and the egos of our own politicians.
Articles of Confederation vs. Constitution
March 1, 1781 marked the date in which the Continental Congress ratified its first constitution, the Articles of Confederation. It was marked by many fears of centralized power especially weakening the powers of Congress because of fears of the centralized system of monarchy and mercantilism under the British Crown. Therefore, the general sentiment in the United States was not one of being a nation, but loyalties lying within each state. Issues such as regulating commerce, collecting taxes, and currency became a hindrance to the growth and prosperity of the United States so many called for a new constitution. Then on July 21, 1788, the ninth state needed to ratify the Constitution, New Hampshire, also ratified the Constitution we know of today. The founding fathers purposefully left many ideas vague for evolution and adaptation to changing times. However, many Anti-federalists who supported the power given to the states under the Articles of Confederation caveated the Constitution's ratification within a system of federalism that would still allow the States with some autonomy and guarantee certain rights, which is why the Bill of Rights is included and a bicameral legislature with a Senate that benefited smaller states was also included. The diagram below shows some of this compromise and the simplified differences and similarities between both governing documents as well as the plans that led to the compromises between anti-federalists and federalists.
Credit: Sierra Vetter / Simply Booket
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Credit: April Demsko / Blendspace
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Court cases
The Judicial branch is charged with an important task of dictating whether laws and governmental actions are constitutional or not. Some judges were limited constructionists who followed strictly what the Constitution dictates through explicit language while loose constructionists ruled on a more implied basis of language. Many of the court cases have set precedents for future momentous changes in politics such as Plessy vs. Ferguson setting the precedent for "separate but equal" that would dictate the discriminatory rules and norms under the Jim Crow era.
Expanding civil rights |
Landmark cases |
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These of course are not all the landmark cases that have passed through the Supreme Court. Under each Chief Justice, there have been a multitude of landmark cases many times taking the political side of the majority based on which president appointed whom. However, these landmark cases have been important in the expansion of civil rights directly during and after the Civil Rights Movement with the Women's liberation movement, the LGBTQ+ movement, and the Sexual Revolution as well as the protection of rights like the Due process clause in the 14th amendment or the famous Miranda rights. To read about many more cases that have affected the progression of American politics here is a website you should check out.
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