Fourth Party System (1896-1928) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Fourth Party System (1896-1928) - Essay Example There were key changes in the Republican and Democratic parties amid 1896 and 1928. Further revolution was experienced due to the changing roles of the national government on farmers, business and minorities. The story of continuity and the key changes experienced in the fields are discussed aptly in the essay. Changes Republican and Democratic Parties between 1896-1928 There were major changes observed in the Republican and Democratic Parties. The changes concentrated in the number of times each party formed the authorized government (Wayne et al, 249). In my viewpoint, the fourth party system can be perceived as an era of inter party competition. Averagely, the 7 national elections held after 1896, the ratio of the party vote between the republicans and the democrats was 57.7% to 42.3% respectively (Wayne et al, 249). Moreover, the republicans got 60% of votes in the 22 states of North and West of the presidential election. Earlier, Democratic and Republican party dominance was equ al in between 1874 and1896. The base of electoral support was initiated when the electorate was modified and realigned by the 1896 election of 1896, which changed the political landscape (Wayne et al, 249). ... odrow Wilson’s 1912 election as the president representing the Democratic Party was only achieved because of the core division within the prevailing Republican coalition (Wayne et al, 249). Republican Party The issue that preoccupied the Republican Party leadership was the splitting up of the party’s members because of internal conflict amid the traditional conformist of the industrial-financial centers of the Northeast. A further cause of the schisms was the traditions of the Progressive reformer of the Middle West that caused disarray amid the Republicans. In my opinion, the issue that preoccupied the Republican Party leadership was Theodore Roosevelt role in splitting the republicans when he failed to capture the GOP nomination from President William Howard Taft (Wayne et al, 248). For this reason, he split the electoral votes in the range of 27.4% to 23.2%. The change observed in Republican Party was its renewal of dominance in producing potential candidates for the presidency. Changes in the Role of National Government between 1896-1928 The American national government had roles during the progressive era at the time the country was evolving from the agricultural epoch to industrial period, for transformation in economic augmentation. It is realistic that the national government experienced major changes in its role of governing the American groups such as farmers, workers, business, minorities and dissidents. The government had to come up with policies to guide large populace being employed in the manufacturing industries. I was especially moved by a research conducted that found out that 1 in 4 families practiced farming because of the industrialization era. The national government role was concentrated in the interest of maintaining and improving the