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.