two party political system

Opposed to these ideas were prominent leaders like James Madison and Thomas Jefferson. They felt that Hamilton's ideas favored New England and were threatening to farmers and tradesmen. Nevertheless, Hamilton was able to establish a group of allies and created what was, essentially, a legislative party. This party was called the Federalists. Those that supported the views of Madison and Jefferson and that were also opposed to Hamilton's policies steadily formed their own party. Members of this party were called Democratic-Republicans. The two parties began to compete in elections and thus, a two party American political system emerged. "By the 1830s political parties were a firmly established part of the political system" (www.allsands.org). The two parties that emerged had more in common with today's Democratic party than with today's Republican party (www.edgate.com, 1). Thus, although the political parties of today and the very first political parties differ in ideologies, it is clear that it was the original political parties that laid the foundation for the American political system.
             The two party system that transpired is not only rare, but has also proven to be extremely durable. "Americans tend to think of a two party system as normal, but most modern democracies have more then two parties" (Kernell and Jacobson, 434). We have been dealing with the same two political parties as the two major parties for almost 140 years. This is the longest continuous basis of political parties anywhere. Thus, there is a great sense of stability in structure, predominantly in the competition of these two parties. There exist many different theories surrounding the reasons that such a system has lasted for this extended period of time.
             The first, and probably the most compelling reason, that two parties have continued to dominate the electorate is that, in the United States, there are plurality elections and single member constituencies.