ABSTRACT
Competitive and democratic political parties allow a wide range of groups to enter peacefully into politics that might otherwise have to turn to alternative measures to gain their ends. Social movements that are incorporated into electoral politics might one day lead to changes in the nation’s political party composition, or even party structure. Political parties , then, are nongovernmental institutions that organize and give direction to mass political desires. Organizations that exist to allow like-minded members of the population to group together and magnify their individual voices into a focus promoting individual candidates and government action. Realignments are the result of a change in public attitudes about the political system and the ability of each party to deliver favorable candidates and policies. The Federalists, arguing for a strong central government, as well as the followers of John Adams and Alexander Hamilton, and the Republicans, arguing for a decentralized system of states’ rights, and led by Jefferson, represented two competing groups.
