The Evolution of Political Parties
Have our political parties always been this contentious? What purposes do political parties serve? Our two party-system was present at the founding, but the evolution of political parties in America has not been linear. Explore the nuances within liberal and conservative factions. Prepare to engage in discourse about the benefit and harm political parties cause and what role the people have in them.
Podcasts & Videos
Do political parties help or harm America? Have our political parties always been this contentious? What purposes do political parties serve? This series of interviews with Dr. Lester Brooks, professor of history at Anne Arundel Community College, explores how political parties been present and evolving in our American history over time. And don't forget to check out the Beyond the Legacy video, the last episode in the series, which traces both conservatism and liberalism as themes throughout American political history.
Each episode below contains a video, quiz, and script. In addition to use in this civil discourse module, 60-Second Civics makes a great warmup activity for your classroom any day!
Want to go deeper? Search political parties or any other relevant topic for use in your instruction from the full library of 60-Second Civics podcasts.
What are the functions of political parties? Dr. Lester Brooks, emeritus professor of American history at Anne Arundel Community College, explains four functions of political parties in this video.
How did political parties come about in the early American republic? Dr. Lester Brooks, emeritus professor of American history at Anne Arundel Community College, explains how the Federalists and the Democratic Republicans came to be the first two political parties in the United States.
What caused the rise of electioneering in the United States? Dr. Lester Brooks, emeritus professor of American history at Anne Arundel Community College, explains how the Federalist party split and examines the rise of Jacksonian democracy.
Do you know how the modern Republican party formed? In this interview, Dr. Lester Brooks, emeritus professor of American history at Anne Arundel Community College, explains how the runup to the Civil War defined today's Republican and Democratic parties.
How did today's dynamic between conservatives and liberals begin to take shape in the twentieth century? In this video, Dr. Lester Brooks, emeritus professor of American history at Anne Arundel Community College, explains how today's modern political landscape began to take shape as a reaction to Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal policies and the civil rights movement and other changes of the 1960s.
How have American political parties evolved since the country's founding period? Dr. Lester Brooks, emeritus professor of American history at Anne Arundel Community College, traces the arc of the development of political parties in the United States in this bonus extended Beyond the Legacy episode of 60-Second Civics.
We hope you've enjoyed this series from 60-Second Civics. Check out the playlist below for easy viewing of the entire series, with each episode playing back-to-back.
