Why are there political parties in the United States if there is no mention of them in the Constitution?

Question

Why are there political parties in the United States if there is no mention of them in the Constitution?

Answer 1

Political parties exist as a means to get enough like-minded people elected to office so that they can steer the direction of the government. Without political parties, your average legislature would have a hard time charting a consistent course - majorities would literally come and go with each vote, and it would be harder to come up with internal governance like today's committees without parties.

Originally, there weren't really any parties. As the Constitution was being debated, parties began to form (Federalist and Anti-Federalist) over whether the constitution should be ratified. The Anti-Federalists died off quickly after the ratification - but competing parties surfaced again as Jefferson (and his allies) and Hamilton (and his allies) had fundamental differences of opinion about how the country should be run. This occurred even at a time when Washington wished to avoid having parties altogether.

Political parties have existed to some extent in any republican or democratic government, from the Optimates and Populares of Rome, Whigs (somewhat liberal) and Tories (conservatives) in Britain, etc. These parties were not nearly as structured as today's parties, but the general idea is the same.