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'''Political parties''' are associations of politicians and voters who have similar stances on political issues.  Examples of political parties in the [[United States]] are the [[Democratic Party]] and the [[Republican Party]] which dominate modern national politics.  Voters belong to political parties in much higher percentages in the [[United States]] than in any other country in the world, though one reason may be that there are membership dues for party membership in most countries, while in the [[United States]] it is free.<ref>http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/Press/Books/2007/redandbluenationvolume2/redandbluenationvolume2_chapter.pdf (p. 44).</ref>

'''Political parties''' are associations of politicians and voters who have similar stances on political issues.  Examples of political parties in the [[United States]] are the [[Democratic Party]] and the [[Republican Party]], the two parties which presently dominate national politics.  Voters belong to political parties in much higher percentages in the [[United States]] than in any other country in the world; one reason for this may be that there are membership dues for party membership in most countries, while in the [[United States]] membership is free.<ref>http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/Press/Books/2007/redandbluenationvolume2/redandbluenationvolume2_chapter.pdf (p. 44).</ref>

Throughout its history, the United States has seen the rise and fall of many parties, including:

Throughout its history, the United States has seen the rise and fall of many parties, including: