POLITICAL PARTIES

CH. 5www.smithsonianmag.com

How is a political party defined?■ A political party is a group of persons who are joined

together and seek to control government in order to secure the adoption of certain _________ and ___________.

■ In the United States, the two main parties are the _______________(also known as the GOP or Grand Old Party) and the_____________.

■ Political parties consist of three subgroups:-professionals: those who run the party at the

national, State and local levels-candidates and officeholders-those who call themselves a Republican or Democrat,

and who support the party candidates.

Why are political parties important?■ Political parties are an important __________ between the people and

the government and are therefor important in a ________________government.

■ Political parties tend to _________groups of people and mitigate the impact of ______________at the far ends of the political _____________.

■ Political parties serve several functions: (1) nominate candidates for public office; (2) informing and activating supporters; (3) act as a channel through which the legislative and executive branches are able to work together; (4) act as a “watchdog” over the conduct of the public’s business

FAR LEFT FAR RIGHTCENTER/

MODERATE

REPUBLICANDEMOCRAT

LIBERAL CONSERVATIVE

Why does the United Sates only have two parties?■ The American party system began as a two party system with the

_______________and _______________.

■ Parties were looked upon unfavorably by the Framers of the Constitution who referred to them as “factions”, which only encouraged divisiveness. Contrary to the fears, the parties tended to be _____________and helped to__________, instead of dividing, the nation.

■ Parties, like most human institutions, become self-_______________: “America has a two party system because America has a two party system”.

■ Elections are “winner-take-all” and are single district elections, which makes it more difficult for minor parties…there are usually only two likely candidates (a minor party candidate is sometimes considered by voters as a “wasted vote”).

■ The parties in power (GOP and Democrats) shape election laws to discourage minor party candidates.

What would a multiparty or a single party system look like?■ Some countries, such as Germany, have

_____________systems. The positive of a multiparty system is that there is more ____________representation of the _________but the negative is that it can lead to ____________in government. Sometimes a government can only function when there is a ___________of multiple parties to achieve a working majority.

■ A single party system is really a “no-party” system, such as in the situation where a _______________is in place. In the United States, often one of the two parties will secure support in a particular State, where that party will often dominate the elections and publicly held offices in that State for some time.

What do parties do?In large part, political parties set an agenda of “issues” on which the party takes a particular___________, which then becomes part of that party’s____________. Below is a list of issues which are often the center of election contests:

1. National Security2. Job Growth3. Regulation4. Programs/Benefits5. Immigration policies6. Tax policies

Define in your own words which each of these mean to you and see if you can add two of your own.

How have the parties in the United States changed over time?I. THE ERA OF THE ______________: From the election of Thomas Jefferson in 1800 until the 1820s, the Anti-Federalists, or the Democratic Republicans as they became known, dominated national politics.■ In the 1820s the Democratic Republicans split into competing

groups: Democrats: Led by Andrew Jackson and consisted of small farmers, slaveholders, and frontier pioneers in the South and the West. The slavery issue did not destroy the Democratic party but did divide it between North and South as the nation moved toward civil war.

The Whig Party: Led by Henry Clay and Daniel Webster and consisted of eastern bankers, merchants and industrialists. This party fell apart in the 1850s because of the slavery issue as the nation moved toward civil war.

How have the parties in the United States changed over time?II. THE ERA OF THE ______________: The Civil War marked

the era of the Republican Party which emerged from the divided Democratic Party and the disintegrating Whig Party. Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican Party President.

-With Lincoln’s election in 1860, the Republican Party has been the first ever to be able to move from “third” party to major party status.

- The Republican Party then dominated for approximately 75 years.

-There were only short breaks in Republican presidents, including when Theodore Roosevelt denied the nomination of his party and campaigned as the “Bull Moose” Progressive Party. Because of the resulting split among Republicans, Woodrow Wilson was able to capture the presidency as the Democratic candidate.

How have the parties in the United States changed over time?III. THE RETURN OF THE ___________________: With the

Great Depression, the Democratic Party back into power with the 1932 election of Franklin Roosevelt. The Democrats would hold this position of power for almost forty more years.

- as a result of the Depression, Roosevelt’s economic and social welfare programs drew together a coalition of southerners, small farmers, organized labor, and big-city political organizations and became the clear majority party.

- the only breaks in the Democratic Party’s hold on the presidency during this era was with the election of World War II hero, Dwight Eisenhower, in 1952 and 1956.

How have the parties in the United States changed over time?IV. THE ERA OF _______________GOVERNMENT: From 1968 up until the present, neither of the main political parties has dominated the presidency. Furthermore, even when a political party’s candidate has held the office of President during this time, it has rarely held a majority in Congress at the same time. Divided government is the term used to describe this situation when one of the major parties holds the Presidency and the other holds control in Congress.

Which of the two major parties represents your issues? Cast your ballot!Look back at the issues reviewed at the beginning of the notes and your definition of each:1. National Security2. Job Growth3. Regulation4. Programs/Benefits5. Immigration policies6. Tax policies

Research the party platform on each of these to see which party’s candidates would most closely represent your ideas on these issues:

https://www.gop.com/platform/

http://www.democrats.org/

http://www.c-spanclassroom.org/Campaign-2016.aspx

WHAT DO YOU THINK?Based on the four eras of political party control on the last four slides, what two historical events have created turning points in our nation’s history of political party control?

Why do you think we have experienced a divided government since 1968? On a scale of 1-10, do you think:

1. We have had a divided government because we have had a period of relatively greater stability than in previous times.

2. We have had a divided government because the political parties have moved closer together and there are fewer differences.

3. We have had a divided government because of dissatisfaction and/or a greater level of distrust in government so we always want someone new.

4. We have had a divided government because of the changes in our society due to technology and the effect of globalization in economic affairs.

5. We have had a divided government because of voter apathy.

Is there even such a thing in American Political Party history as minor parties?YES! And there have been several. All minor parties are important because minor parties can have an impact on the politics of one or both of the major parties.

Minor parties are important because:

■ Candidates for minor parties can play a decisive role in elections by drawing votes away from the major party candidates. For example, Ralph Nader was the Green Party candidate in the 2000 election involving George W. Bush and Al Gore. Ross Perot was a candidate for the Reform Party in the election of 1992 and 1996 and split some of the vote in the election involving Bill Clinton and Bob Dole.

■ 27 minor party and independent party candidates appeared on the ballots of at least one State in 2012, more than a thousand candidates sought seats in Congress and various state and local offices around the country.

http://content.time.com/time/covers

Minor parties can be placed in one of four categories:

1. _______________parties: members are grouped together on the basis of specific beliefs. Ideological parties have historically not won many votes, but they are usually long-lived.

2. _______________parties: focus on a primary concern—slavery, immigration. These parties tend to fade away as time passes, or because one of the main parties picks up on the primary area of concern.

3. __________________parties: rooted in economic discontent, usually sectional (meaning that they the appeal is to a specific geographic area such as the South and West).

4. ______________parties: Usually split from one of the major parties and usually involve a specific personality (for example, Theodore Roosevelt and the Bull Moose Progressive Party)

So you’re 18, YOU have a voice!!

http://www.c-spanclassroom.org/Video/2356/CLIP+Millennials+Campaign+2016.aspx

How do parties operate on a day-to-day basis?Although there are two major parties, the operations for those are largely decentralized (spread out). One reason for this is our federalist system where there are over a half million elective offices all over the United States. Another reason for this is the nominating process which causes a lot of divisiveness when it come to selecting a single candidate.

Both major parties, however, had a national convention and therefore a “national voice” in every presidential election year. Both major parties have a national committee, which names party chairman in each State, as well as the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Republican National Committee is often referred to as the “RNC”, and the Democratic National Committee is referred to as the “DNC”.

Follow the links below to see some of the activities of both in the current election cycle:

http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/02/politics/republican-rnc-loyalty-pledge-donald-trump /

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/29/us/politics/bernie-sanders-faces-skepticism-from-democratic-insiders.html?_r=0

Is there a “chain of command” within parties?The major parties National Committees have a National Chairperson who serves a four-year term. This person works in the party headquarters and directs the national staff in Washington. The primary job function is to promote party unity, raise money, and to recruit new members.

The two major parties also have a campaign committee in each house of Congress which work to re-elect incumbents, and to help hold on to seats by retiring members.

Each State has its own central committee, which is headed by a State chairperson. There are also local party structures which follow the electoral map and can be a ward, or a precinct. A ward refers to a city divided for the election of city council members. A precinct is the smallest unit and refers to specific polling place where ballots are cast.

http://algop.org/about-us/resources/

http://www.aldemocrats.org/