• First Presidential election in U.S. History• Occurs after the ratification of the Constitution• Washington ran essentially unopposed• John Adams gets 2nd most electoral votes, thus becoming first V.P.
• Adams narrowly defeats Jefferson • Major issue of campaign? – Federal Power• Federalist party maintains a tedious grip on power in
the new republic
• “Revolution of 1800” – significance? • Jefferson narrowly defeats Adams & Burr
o Role of Alexander Hamilton & House of Representatives? • First transfer of power b/w different political parties in U.S. history • Sets precedent for future elections
• The “Corrupt Bargain” details of alleged conspiracy? o Role of Henry Clay
• JQA defeats Old Hickory despite not winning the popular vote or majority of electors
• What group of people does Andrew Jackson appeal to?
• Andrew Jackson finally claims the White House • Significance of “Jacksonian Democracy”?
o Democratic - Republicans are reborn as Democrats • Executive Branch will be greatly strengthened over the next
8 years o What are the three main issues of Jackson’s presidency?
• Jackson easily defeats a challenge from powerful political enemy Henry Clay
• 1832 is an referendum on Old Hickory’s policies dealing with the Bank of the United States o Role of Nicholas Biddle?
• “Log Cabin Campaign” , “Tippecanoe & Tyler Too”• War hero William Henry Harrison* defeats staunch Jacksonsian
incumbent Martin Van Buren to become first Whig President • How did the Whigs beat the Democrats at their own game? *Died of pneumonia, president for only 30 days
• In 1844 the Democrats were split…• James K. Polk narrowly defeats seasoned Whig candidate Henry Clay
o Role of Liberty Party candidate James Birney? • Manifest Destiny achieved?• Four goals of Polk’s presidency?
• Amid building sectional tensions James Buchanan is elected• A Northern Democrat, Buchanan will be sympathetic to southern
interests and will do little to stop the decent into civil war • 1856 marks the first Republican Candidate for President
o Republican Party Platform? o What groups joined to form the Republicans?
• Last election before the outbreak of the Civil War• Democrats split along sectional lines, ensuring Lincoln’s election
despite not winning a true majority of votes • Lincoln’s election spurs the South to follow through with threats
of secession if a Republican is elected President
• As the Civil War approaches its end, Lincoln withstands a challenge from an old acquaintance – General George McClellan, aka “Tardy” Georgeo What event ensures Lincoln’s reelection?
• The Corrupt Bargain Part II? • In an election decided by the House of Rep, Hayes
defeats Tilden by one Electoral vote• How does the Election of 1876 effect Reconstruction?
o Main terms of Compromise of 1877?
• Final election of the 19th Century, U.S. on the verge of modernityo Nation is emerging from the Gilded Age
• Peak of Populist movement - People’s Party briefly merges with Democrats & nominates William Jennings Bryan o Main Issues of 1896 election? o Significance of William McKinley’s victory?
• TR win’s the presidency in his own right • TR concentrates on more progressive reforms in his 2nd term
o Square Deal? o Bully Pulpit?o Trust Busting?o Big Stick Diplomacy?
• Three major candidates all claim to be progressives• Height of Progressive Era
o New Freedom vs. New Nationalismo Role of TR & the Bull Moose Party/relationship with Taft?
• Reelection for Woodrow Wilsono Triple wall of privilege?
• Wilson’s official foreign policy position?• How do events in and around Europe force Wilson to
change this position in regard WWI?
• Harding elected in a “return to normalcy” after WWI• Ushers in an era of laissez faire gov’t that will last until
the beginning of The Great Depression
• Promising a “New Deal” to pull the nation out of depression FDR defeats the incredibly unpopular Herbert Hoover in landslide fashion
• 1932 marks the switch in voting loyalties among black Americans as the majority vote Democrat for the first time
• After winning reelection in 1936 and with major trouble brewing in Europe & East Asia, FDR is granted a 3rd term
• U.S. officially enters WWII at the end of 1941
• With WWII raging, FDR wins an unprecedented 4th term in office• With FRD’s death in April of 1945, Harry Truman assumes the
presidency o Truman will make the final decisions that will end WWII
• In perhaps the most surprising election result in U.S. history, incumbent Harry Truman defeats heavily favored Thomas Dewey
• In his 2nd term Truman, will continue to use economic aid to rebuild war torn Europe in the face of spreading communism
• Truman will also deal with criticism over failure to contain communism in Asiao Dixie-crat (states rights) Senator Strom Thurmond runs on a segregationist
platform and garners significant votes in the deep south
• War hero Gen. Dwight Eisenhower is elected as the nation begins an era of unprecedented prosperity
• Beneath the perceived aura of domestic stability of the 1950s are serious issues which will explode in the near futureo Civil Rightso Women’s Rights o Nuclear proliferation (M.A.D.) & the continuing Cold War
• Closest election until 2000, JFK narrowly defeats Nixono Role of TV debates? JFK’s religion? Nixon’s connection to Ike?
• How did JFK seem to embody the changing spirit in America during the early 1960s?
• Nixon rebounds from defeat in 1960 to narrowly claim White House• Significance of the “Silent Majority”?
o 3rd party candidate George Wallace runs on a segregationist platform – effect on election?
o What fears did Wallace exploit as a part of his candidacy?
• Easy reelection for Nixon as Watergate investigation begins to widen • Watergate scandal explodes after Nixon’s 2nd inauguration
• 1980 begins the resurgence of conservatism in American Politics o What prompted this shift to the right in American politics?
• CA governor Ronald Reagan leads the neoconservatives into powero Birth of the modern conservation movement? o Influence of religious right? o Reaganomics?
• Closest presidential election in U.S. history• George W. Bush elected despite narrowly losing the popular vote
o Role of Florida? o Role of the Supreme Court?
The American Two Party System **Dates are general in nature, it is possible for overlap to exist**
• Pre-Party System: Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists
• 1st Party System: Late 1790s – 1828– Federalists vs. Democratic-Republicans: Adams – JQA
• 2nd Party System: 1828 – 1854– Democrats vs. Whigs: Jackson – Pierce/Buchanan
• 3rd Party System: 1854 – mid 1890s – Democrats vs. Republicans: Lincoln – Cleveland
• 4th Party System: 1896 – 1932– Democrats(Populists & Progressives) vs. Republicans: McKinley – Hoover
• 5th Party System: 1933 - ??? Still ongoing?– New Deal Democrats vs. Conservative Republicans: FDR - ???
**Did a 6th Party System begin in the 1980s with conservative resurgence?**