The American political party system : a historiography

This project addresses the origins and effectiveness of the political party system in America. The major themes of the scholarly research included in this historiography are that political parties are and have been controversial, that political parties created a dilemma for the founders in terms of weighing faction against liberty, and that a continuing debate exists over the effectiveness of the modern political party system in America. The resulting literature review unearthed a wide array of conflicting interpretations about the efficacy of both the historical and modern political party system. It is clear that author bias and inconsistent research techniques may have influenced the development of the controversy. This project also includes a unit plan for teaching about the political party system within the larger context of American history. The lesson plan will focus on the early development of our Constitution and what part the issue of political parties took in its evolution.