Political PartiesAP UNIT 3

Defining Party

• political party - a group of people with similar political beliefs who seek to control gov’t by getting elected to public office• is another linkage institution

between the people and the government

Purposes of Parties

1.) Choose candidates

2.) Run campaigns

3.) Cue voters about candidates

4.) Support specific policies and political agendas

5.) Coordinate policymaking

Parties and Rational Choice

• Rational-choice theory - individuals carefully make choices to best benefit their interests

• it is in the best interests:• of parties to appeal to as many

people as possible (in order to win)• of voters to support a party that

reflects their interests and will accomplish their goals

Parties and Ideology

• Party beliefs/goals are tied to political ideologies

• Their challenge: maintaining a centrist/moderate (“middle”) stance while appealing to their party bases on the left or right

Core Beliefs of Democrats (Generalized)

• More gun control• Pro-choice (pro-abortion)• Clean / green energy solutions• More gov’t control of business and

economy• Higher taxes for rich people• Gov’t should provide for the people in

times of need• Marriage equality• Amnesty (forgiveness) for illegal

immigrants• Anti-death penalty

Core Beliefs of Republicans (Generalized)

• Less gun control• Pro-life (anti-abortion)• Use of natural resources for energy• Less gov’t control of economy / business• Lower taxes on rich will help economy• People shouldn’t rely on gov’t and

programs should be more limited• Tradition marriage• Strict border control of immigration /no

amnesty• Pro-death penalty

• 3 roles of political parties in society:• 1.) Party as part of the

electorate (population that votes)

• 2.) Party as part of an organization

• 3.) Party as a part of gov’t

I. Party and the Electorate

• party identification - an individual’s preference of a political party• individuals tend to favor parties that

align with their beliefs• In U.S., party identification is

psychological (you think, you are)

• party image - a voter’s perception of a political party; what they believe the party stands for

II. Party Organization

• U.S. political party organization is decentralized (power moved from one national authority to several local authorities)

• broken up across national, state, and local levels

City-Level Corruption

• party machines - a type of party organization that uses incentives to gain party loyalty, win elections, and govern

• patronage - gov’t jobs given to individuals in exchange for votes/political support (not based on merit)

Since the fall of party machines, party organization has focused more on the county level

State Level

• Above county/local parties, each state runs its own organizations of political parties

• Since states control elections, they have substantial influence over party activities

National Level

• national convention - highest party authority; meets every four years to elect a party’s presidential candidates and adopt the party platform

• national committee - highest party authority between party conventions (led by committee chairman who coordinates daily activities of the party)

• works to get its party candidates elected, raise money for campaigns, etc.

• Ex: DNC, RNC

III. Party and Government

• Parties in control of gov’t control public policymaking (what direction the country goes in)

• Voters expect parties to follow through on their campaign goals

• coalition - individuals who have common interests and support a particular party as a result (think “voting base”)

Party Eras in U.S. History

• party era - time period in which most voters identified with the party in power (which then won a majority of elections)

• party realignment - majority party in power is ousted by the minority party• people change from voting for one

party to the other in a given election

• critical election - election in which party realignment occurs; new issues emerge, party coalitions (supporters) change/break, party and electorate are both divided• allows for minority party to take

over office• starts a new party era

I. The First Party System (1796-1828)

• Federalists become the nation’s first political party (ex: Adams)• their coalition: supporters of strong

national gov’t, national bank, business• died out quickly after 1800

VS. • Democratic-Republicans (former Anti-

Federalists) (ex: Jefferson, Madison)• their coalition: supporters of strong

state gov’ts, farmers, rural populations

• dominate for most of era

II. The Democratic Era (1828-1860)

• The Democrats form in 1828 under Jackson (ex: Jackson, Van Buren, Polk)• their coalition: Southerners,

Westerners, immigrants, “common people”

VS• The Whigs (ex: W.H. Harrison,

Taylor, Tyler, Fillmore)• their coalition: anti-Jacksonians,

businesses, supporters of national reform, labor, universal education, etc.

III. The Republican Era (1860-1932)

• The Republican party formed in 1854 (initially anti-slavery party) (ex: Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, T. Roosevelt, Coolidge, Hoover)• their coalition: abolitionists, left-over

Whig coalitions• 1896 - realigning election focused on

gold standard VS the Democrats (ex: A. Johnson,

Cleveland, Wilson)*Democrats vs. Republicans from now

on*

IV. The New Deal Coalition (1932-1968)

• party realignment back to Democrats (ex: FDR, Truman, LBJ, Kennedy)• FDR passed New Deal programs to

ease Great Depression; LBJ: Great Society

• Their coalition: city dwellers, labor unions, the poor, Southerners, Catholics and Jews, African Americans

V. Era of Divided Government (1968-

Present)• Southerners realigned with

Republican party over social/economic issues (started with Nixon)

• Era characterized by one party holding the presidency and the other party holding one or both houses of Congress• No more stretches of time with one

party in continuous control • party dealignment - people disengaging

from both parties (lower party identification)

Third Parties

• Smaller parties operating outside the main two parties

• TYPES:• Ideological - supports certain belief

system about gov’t• Single-issue - focuses on one issue• Splinter - breaks off from one of the

main two parties• Economic Protest - advocates for

economic reform

Effects of Third Parties

• Serve as a “watchdog” on main two parties

• Champion fresh political ideas

• Offer other options for voters

• Split major parties in elections

A Few Party Terms

• partisan - favoring only one political party

• bipartisan - supported by both parties (working together)

• nonpartisan - not biased toward either political party

Our Two Party System

• Dominated by Democrats and Republicans (GOP) because:• Tradition (U.S. has had 2 parties

since 1796)• Winner-take-all system - (ex:

Congress) party with the most votes in district wins election; other parties get nothing

• small parties cannot compete so will join one of larger two parties to win