A Short History of the Two-Party System

In an article suggesting numerous changes to the constitution of the Congress at Last Free Voice, Rhys Balvier points out that:

Many Americans have the mistaken belief that the founders created a two-party system. This is patently false . . . The founders tried to create a NO-party system, with the idea that individual members of Congress would band together is short-lived coalitions for each separate issue that came before them. This is another idea which not only did not survive our nation’s first generation; it did not survive the Washington administration.

Wes Wolfe of Wolfe Reports begins where Balvier leaves off, and provides a well-sourced sketch of the history and development of the two-party system, from the debates between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists to the presidential election of 1992, emphasizing the ways in which the duopoly parties have historically sought to exclude third parties from political competition at both national and state levels. Upon request, Wolfe was kind enough to supplement this piece with one assessing the implementation of the APSA's 'Responsible Party Model' of government since the publication of its influential report 'Toward a More Responsible Two-Party System' in 1950. Both papers are well-worth perusing.