Trace the history of the American political parties. Discuss the key events that took place during each party era, which parties were involved, and what led to a new party era. Finally, discuss the controversy over whether the United States has entered a Sixth Party Era.

What will be an ideal response?

during the First Party Era, the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans were the two major parties, and they battled primarily over the power of the national government versus the states. With the Federalists losing power, the controversial election of 1824 created a massive split in the Democratic-Republicans, which led to the Second Party Era. The answer to the second part of the question should discuss the idea that no long-lasting national change in party identification has occurred (that is, we haven’t had a critical election) but that regional realignment has taken place (e.g., the South), and the parties also have entered a period of dealignment.