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Pete Davis
Debock
English 4 Honors
2/20/15
Research Question: Does the United States need to find another way to elect
officials other than the traditional two-party system.
Working Thesis: The two-party system needs to be entirely eliminated from
United States elections.
Refined Thesis: In order to address modern social issues, growing economic
concerns, and come up with innovative solutions to contemporary problems, the
two-party system needs to be entirely eliminated from United States elections.
Annotated Bibliography
Baderstcher, Eric. "Political Parties: An Overview." Ebsco Host. Lakeside Publishing
Group, LLC, 1 Jan. 2014.
This article provides an overview of the two party system as it exists in the
United States, as well as providing historical insight pertaining to general distrust of
the system as a whole by some of the United States founders and writers of the
United States Constitution. The article goes on to explain how the two party system
became the de facto system by which the nation based its elections on, and
different ways it has been successful as well as detailing the many failures of the
system. Baderstchers article will help provide a historical perspective that can be
used to both support and oppose my position that the two party system needs to be
entirely eliminated from United States elections at all levels.

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Evinger, Barbara. "The "Two-party System" Is Alive and Well in American Politics."
Ebsco Host. Lakeside Publishing Group, LLC, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 20 Feb. 2015.
Evingers article largely argues the effectiveness of the two-party system in
United States elections. The main point established by Evinger is that the two-party
system ensures that the winning candidate will be appealing to the largest amount
of voters, thus leading to moderate, agreeable governing. Another important point
presented by Evinger in the article is the recent failures of other emerging 3 rd
political parties to appeal to the undecided voter. This article refutes my position
that the two-party system needs to be eliminated from American Elections, while
mainly citing failed attempts in the past to divert from the status-quo of two-party
elections.
Jacobs, W.E. "The Two-party System in the United States Has Broken Down." Ebsco
Host. Lakeside Publishing Group, LLC, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 20 Feb. 2015.
This article discusses how outdated the two-party system has become. Jacobs
argues that in order to resolve modern social and economic issues, there needs to
be a new system of electing government officials. Jacobs also points out that these
two political parties are typically just trying to stay in power by any means
necessary, even if that means changing their own core values to relate to a larger
group of people. Jacobs worries that rather than serving the needs of citizens, the
two main political parties are simply trying to stay afloat. Jacobs mentions that at
the very least, a 3rd party needs to be represented in elections in order to address
modern issues. This article supports my position that the two-party system needs to
be ridded of entirely.

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