In the early days of the Republic -- say the first decade or so, which would be roughly 1787 to the turn of the century -- there were no political parties. The founding fathers saw great danger in them, in that they could lead to a "tyranny of the majority." That implies the imposition of complete control over anyone in a minority. Centralized power, they thought, would inevitably lead to situations in which the minority would be subjected to subservience to a majority. For this reason, the Constitution contains all sorts of measures ("checks and balances") designed to avoid this. The same idea motivates many of the procedural rules created by Congress, such as the filibuster that the Senate uses to stop certain bills from coming to a vote and becoming law.
Washington, and many of his colleagues, didn't think political parties were needed or wanted. This view turned out to be somewhat naive, as political allies will always form alliances to advance their interests, or to block the plans of their political adversaries. And indeed, a two-party system evolved -- the one that we still have today.
Many countries have multiple-party systems, and there is a constant shifting of alliances. Efforts to create a third party in America have been sporadic, and have never come very close to success.
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