CHAPTER 5: POLITICAL PARTIES

Section 1

Parties & What They Do

Political Parties

A group of persons who seek to control government through the winning of elections and the holding of public office.

Or…… A group of persons, joined together on

the basis of certain common principles, who seek to control government in order to secure the adoption of certain public policies & programs.

Political Parties

Examples: 1. The party organization – the party

“professionals” who make the party run at the national, state, & local levels.

2. The party in government – includes the party’s candidates & officeholders.

3. The party in the electorate – the millions of people who call themselves Republicans or Democrats and who support the party and its candidates.

What Parties Do

Vital link between the people and their government and between the government and the governed.

Control the political spectrum of views which is the range of political views. (extremists)

Nominate candidates (major function) Informs & educates the people. Acts as a “bonding agent” (ensures that

candidates are qualified and moral) Exhibits partisanship which is strong support of

their party and policy stands. Watchdog role – they watch over the other party.

Two-Party & Electoral System

Democrats & Republicans – have their roots in the beginning of the nation itself through the Federalists & the Anti-Federalists.

Single-member districts – where only one candidate is elected to each office on the ballot.

Plurality – the largest number of votes cast for an office.

Bipartisan – the 2 major parties find common ground.

Consensus – a general agreement among various groups.

Multiparty Systems

Tend to produce a broader, more diverse representation of the electorate.

Coalition – a temporary alliance of several groups who come together to form a working majority and so to control government.

Section 2:

Two-Party System in American History

The Nation’s First Parties

1st – Federalist – Alexander Hamilton – a party of the rich and the well-born – most supported the Constitution – worked to create a stronger national government – their viewpoints appealed to financial, manufacturing, & commercial interests.

2nd – Anti-Federalists – later known as Jeffersonian Republicans or Democratic-Republicans – finally known as the Democratic Party – favored the “common man” – favored a very limited role for the new government – favored Congress.

Terms

Incumbent – the current officeholder Factions – competing groups Spoils System – the practice of awarding

public offices, contracts, and other government favors to those who supported the party in power

Electorate – the people eligible to vote Sectionalism – emphasizes a devotion to

the interests of a particular region.

Section 3

Minor Parties

Minor Parties

Ideological Parties – those that are based on a particular set of beliefs or a comprehensive view of social, economic, & political matters. Most of these parties were built on some idea of Marxist thought. (Socialist, Socialist Labor, Socialist Worker, & Communist Parties)

Single-Issue Parties – focus on one simple social question (Right To Life Party – against abortion)

Minor Parties

Economic Protest Parties – no clear cut ideological base – rooted in economic discontent.

Splinter Parties – those parties that have split away from the larger parties ( The Bull Moose Party & The Dixiecrat Party)

Their importance = started the use of national conventions to nominate a president & play the role of “spoilers”

Section 4

Party Organization

Decentralization

Reasons for decentralization: Federalism The nominating process

Terms

Ward – a unit into which cities are often divided for the election of city council members.

Precinct – the smallest unit of election administration