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POLITICAL PARTIES
Chapter 5
Essential Questions
In what ways should people participate in public affairs?
Does the two-party system help or harm democracy in the United States?
“No America without democracy, no democracy without politics, no politics without parties, no parties without compromise and moderation…” (Clinton Rossiter)
PARTIES AND WHAT THEY DO
Chapter 5, Section 1
What is a Party?
Political Party: a group of persons who seek to control government through winning of elections and holding public office
US political parties are election-oriented, not issue-oriented Each made up of three closely related elements:
1) party organization 2) party in government 3) party in the electorate
What Parties Do
Essential to democratic government—vital link between people and government
“power brokers” Functions:
1) Nominating Candidates* 2) Informing and Activating Supporters
Who else does this? Role of compromise?
3) Bonding Agent Function 4) Governing
Role of partisanship 5) Watchdog Function
“throw the rascals out”
Two-Party System
US has long been dominated by two party system
Factors: 1) Historical Basis
Feds/Anti-Feds Framers & “factions”
2) Tradition 3) Electoral System
Single-member districts (winner take all) Bipartisan favoritism
4) American Ideological Consensus Impact on parties?
Multiparty Systems
Prominent in European democracies Interest-oriented parties – economic class,
religion, political ideology, etc. Strength/Weakness?Coalitions
Temporary alliance of several groups who come together to form a working majority to control a government
Examples Brazil, Germany, Chile, Italy, India
One-Party Systems
“No-party” system“Modified one-party system”
One-forth of American states Single party domination
Class Discussion: Do you think one-party systems are beneficial? What
are the drawbacks of having a dominant party winning every election?
How do you think the modified one-party system relates to ideological consensus? Can you explain other reasons that this phenomenon exists?
TWO-PARTY SYSTEM IN AMERICAN HISTORY
Chapter 5, Section 2
The Nation’s First Parties
The battle over ratification of the Constitution led to the rise of the first major parties
Federalist Party Alexander Hamilton; John
Adams “the rich and well-born” Favored strong national
government—policies that helped financial, commercial, and manufacturing interests
Democratic-Republican Party
Opposed the Federalists Originally called Anti-Federalist Party, then changed
to Jeffersonian Republicans/Democratic-Republican Party
Favored a more limited national government—policies aimed at helping farmers, planters, labor, small business “common man”
Thomas Jefferson, James MadisonElection of 1796 & 1800
Four Major Eras
1) 1800-1860 Democrats won 13/15 presidential elections
2) 1860-1932 Republicans won 14/18 elections
3) 1932-1968 Began with Democrats’ return to power and FDR’s
first election Democrats won 7/9 elections
4) 1968-Present Republicans have won 7/12 elections
Era of Democrats
“Era of Good Feeling” Democratic-Republicans unopposed in national
politics However, by 1820s, party split into numerous factions
—birth of National Republicans and then WhigsAndrew Jackson (1829-1837)
“Jacksonian Democracy”—3 major changes: 1) Voting rights expanded to include all whites
(regardless of property) 2) Huge increase in number of elected offices
nationwide 3) Spread of spoils system
Democrats vs. Whigs
Democrats Drew support from small farmers, debtors,
pioneers, slaveholders; especially popular in the South and West
Whigs Loose coalition of eastern bankers,
merchants, and industrialists; and many owners of large southern plantations
Favored high tariffs Henry Clay; Daniel Webster
Splitting of Parties
Debate over slavery split the Whigs and Democrats in the 1850s Whig Party fell apart—death of Clay and
Webster Democrats split between northern and
southern factions Republican Party emerged in 1854
Drew support from many Whigs as well as antislavery Democrats
First Republican President elected in 1860
Era of Republicans
Republican Party won 14/18 presidential elections from 1860 to 1932
Civil War crippled Democrats Power concentrated in the South—which they
controlled for roughly 100 years after Reconstruction
Republican Party dominated nationally Support of farmers, laborers, business and
financial interests, and freed African Americans Republicans benefitted from years of economic
prosperity
Reading Check
What third-party candidate had an influence on the election of 1912? Explain.
Return of the Democrats
Democrats won 7/9 presidential elections from 1932 to 1968
Impact of Great Depression Gained support of
southerners, small farmers, big city political organizations, labor unions, and minority groups
Era of Divided Government
Republicans have won 7/12 presidential elections since 1968
Democrats controlled Congress for most of this period Republicans controlled Congress from 1995 to 2000
when Bill Clinton was in office; as well as from 2011-2015
Division of power has meant that neither party could easily control the agenda without making compromises
Chapter 5, Section 3
Objectives
1) Identify the types of minor parties that have been active in American politics.
2) Understand why minor parties are important despite the fact that none has ever won the presidency.
Introduction
What role have minor parties played in American politics? Four broad categories:
Ideological Parties Single-Issue Parties Economic Protest Parties Splinter Parties
Spoiler Role Innovative Role
Ideological Parties
Based on particular set of beliefs—a comprehensive view of social, economic, and political factors Most have been built around
Marxist ideas Ex: Socialist, Socialist Labor,
Socialist Worker, and Communist parties
Libertarian Party?Rarely win votes, but long
term presence
Gary Johnson 2012
Single Issue Parties
Emphasize one public policy issue Ex: Free Soil Party
Most single issue parties fade away when issue is resolved or no longer attracts public interest
Know-Nothings; Right to Life; Prohibition Party
Economic Protest Parties
Arise in periods of economic trouble
No clear ideological base—enemy is the monetary system
Call for economic reforms Populist Party (Greenbacks)
in 1890s Parties have short life
span
Splinter Parties
Split away from one of the major parties
Most of the more important minor parties have been splinter parties
Often centered on a particular candidate who fails to win his or her majority nomination/disagreement within a major party
Cult of personality
Splinter Parties
The Progressive parties of Theodore Roosevelt and Robert La Follette split from the Republican Party Roosevelt’s party
nicknamed Bull Moose Party
Splinter parties tend to break up when their leaders step aside
Spoiler Role
Minor Parties can also play a spoiler role in an election By winning electoral
votes or even enough popular votes to affect the outcome in a key state, a minor party can affect outcome of an election
Ex: Green Party & Ralph Nader (2000)
Raising Public Awareness
Most important role of minor parties is to raise public awareness of controversial issues Women’s suffrage, income tax, regulation of banking
and railroadsMinor parties challenge the major parties to
take action on issues Major parties often incorporate minor party issues Norman Thomas: “the major parties are stealing from
my platform”
Chapter 5, Section 4
Objectives
1. Understand why the major parties have a decentralized structure.
2. Describe the national party machinery and party organization at the State and local levels.
Topics
How are political parties organized at the federal, State, and local levels? Parties are decentralized. National Committees represent each
party’s interests at the national level. Most states have a central party
committee. Local party structures vary quite widely
from place to place.
A Decentralized Structure
Neither party has an unbroken chain of command running through all levels of government.
The President is the nominal leader of his or her party.
This means that the party of the President is typically better organized than its rival party.
The President’s media exposure and power to make appointments is valuable, but does not give him or her complete authority over all party activities
Federalism & Nominating Process
The federal system is decentralized. There are more than half a million elective offices in
the United States spread across federal, state, and local governments.
The parties must satisfy a very wide range of voters, which makes it hard to have a unified party message.
How does the nomination process contribute to intraparty conflict? The nominating process can lead to competition
within the parties. Nominations are made within the party and can divide
party members if there is a dispute over nominees.
The National Convention
The national convention is held every presidential election year.
The convention names the party’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates, adopts the party’s rules, and writes the official party platform.
The convention does not name candidates for other offices and has no control over the actual policies supported by candidates.
National Committee
The national committee handles party issues in between conventions. Each party’s national committee includes a committee
member from each state. The Republican National Committee (RNC) now
seats the party chairperson for each state as well as representatives from various Republican groups and the U.S. territories.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is even larger. It includes the party chair and vice chairperson from each state, additional party members from the larger states, and up to 75 at large members chosen by the DNC.
National Chairsperson
The national chairperson leads the national committee. The chairperson is
chosen after the national convention by the presidential nominee.
Howard Dean (right) served as the Democratic Party’s national chairperson in the 2008 election.
National Chairperson
The national chairperson directs the work of the party headquarters
In presidential election years, the national chairperson’s work involves the presidential campaign
In other years, the chairperson concentrates on building party unity, raising money, and recruiting new voters
State Party Organization
State law largely determines party organization at the state level.
Most states have a central party committee headed by a chairperson. The committee members choose the
chairperson, who often has a great deal of independence in conducting party affairs.
Committee members are chosen by a variety of methods: primaries, caucuses, or state conventions.
These officials try to promote party unity, find candidates, and raise funds.
Local Party Organization
Local party structure varies a great deal.
In some places local party organizations are active year-round, but usually they focus their efforts on the few months before an election.
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