Political Parties

Kelly Walker

US Government

Assignment

1. Go to: http://www.learner.org/courses/democracyinamerica/dia_12/

2. Click on the readings tab

Read the Introduction—Political Parties: Mobilizing Agents and answer this question: What are mobilizing agents and how do they link citizens to government participation?

Objectives

• Understand the origins of political parties in the United States

• Identify and describe the three major periods of single-party domination and describe the current era of divided government.

• Understand the role of political parties in the US system of government

What is a Party?

• Political Party: a group of persons, joined together on the basis of common principles, who seek to control government through the winning of elections and the holding of political office

• Democrats and Republicans

What Do Parties Do?

• Essential to democratic Government• Political Efficacy: Citizens faith and trust in

government and their own belief that they can understand and influence political affairs

• Behind the development of broad policy and leadership choices

• “Power Brokers”: Bring conflicting groups together- compromise

• Structure the Voting Choice

Functions

• Nominating Candidates• Informing and Activating Supporters (news

media/interest groups)• Bonding Agent: Ensure their candidates

are qualified/good character • Governing: Partisanship: government

action based on firm allegiance to a political party and its policies

• Acting as a Watchdog

Party Realignments

A. Periods when a major, lasting shift occurs in the make-up of political parties.

Two Major Types of Realignments

1. Party actually dies

2. Voters shift support from one party to another (economics or issue driven)

There have been at least five in American history1800- end of the Federalists

1828- Jackson Democrats came to power

1860- Whigs collapsed- Republicans came to power

1896- Republicans defeated Bryan

1932- Democrats under Roosevelt

The Nation’s First Parties- Started from the conflict over ratification of the Constitution: The

Pre-party PeriodA. Federalists- 1st political party.

1. Leader- Alexander Hamilton2. Most Federalists were “the rich and the well-

born.” 3. Beliefs a. A strong executive

b. Policies to correct the nation’s economic ills. c. Loose interpretation of the Constitution

4. Supportersa. financial interestsb. Manufacturingc. commercial interests

B. Democratic-Republicans

1. Leader- Thomas Jefferson2. More concerned with the “common man.”3. Beliefs

a. Congress should dominate the new government

b. Limited role of the new governmentc. Strict interpretation of the Constitution.4. Supportersa. small shopkeepersb. Laborersc. farmers

C. Election of 1796

http://www.270towin.com/

1. First election with a Federalist against a Democratic-Republican

2. John Adams (Federalist) defeated Thomas Jefferson (D-R) by 3 electoral votes.

First Party System: Realignment of 1800

A. Thomas Jefferson elected presidentB. Jeffersonian Democrats replace the Federalists as the

majority partyC. Policy change from a strong national government,

centralized power, and government policies designed to benefit business to ...

D. Policies predicated on a rural country, small farmers, less government, more equality

E. Federalists Ceased being a viable electoral party

F. This "party system" ends in early 1820s with virtual one party rule --- the "era of good feelings"

II. The Era of the Democrats, 1800-1860

A. Era of Good Feeling- Democrat-Republicans face no opposition from 1816-1824

B. Factions develop after 1824

C. Whig party develops after 1828 election

D. Democrats 1828

1. Leader- Andrew Jackson

2. Supporters mostly from the south and west

a. small farmers

b. debtors

c. frontier pioneers

d. slave holders

3. Fundamental changes made under Democrats

a. voting rights for all males

b. spread of the spoils system

c. a huge increase in the number of elected offices around the country

E. Whig Party 1. Leaders: Henry Clay, Daniel Webster

2. Supporters

a. Eastern bankers

b. merchants and industrialists

c. large southern plantation owners

F. Era ends over the issue of slavery

1. Whigs collapse (Clay and Webster die)

2. Democrats split into 2 sharply divided groups, North and South.

G. Republican party develops

1. Whigs and antislavery Democrats.

2. Starts in 1854.

III. The Era of the Republicans, Realingment of 1860-1932

A. The Civil War brings the beginning of the second era of one-party domination.

B. Republicans 1. Lincoln was the first Republican president.

2. Republican Supportersa. Business and financial interestsb. Farmersc. Laborersd. Newly freed African AmericansC. Democrats1. Crippled by the Civil War2. Maintain control in the “Solid South.”

D. Election of 1896

1. William McKinley- Republican

a. Favored the Gold Standard

b. Supported big business, monopolies and the railroads.

2. William Jennings Bryan - Democrat

a. Favored free silver

b. Supported by farmers and newly emerging unions

Return of the Democrats1932-1968

A. Depression brings about a shift in the perception of the role of government in society and return Democrats to power

B. Franklin D. Roosevelt- Strong Social Welfare programs

C. Democrat Supporters a. Southerners b. Small Farmers c. Organized labor d. Big-City political organizations

Realignment of 1932

A. Brought on by the Great DepressionB. GOP President Herbert Hoover very unpopular

– 1. conservative– 2. considered aloof– 3. believes in riding out the storm

C. Democrats rally around FDR– 1. promises at first to do something -- compassionate– 2. later adopts a liberal, activist agenda

D. Democrats sweep into power nationally in 1932 elections, filters down to state elections over next several decades

Coalition Crackup

Question --- is New Deal realignment still operative?

A. Coalition undermined by defection of Solid South over racial matters– beginning in 1948, white southerners began to vote for

Republicans (or Independents) at presidential level

B. Labor and many northern poor have defected to GOP on occasion over economic and crime issues- Reagan Democrats

C. Some Catholics have defected over abortionD. Obviously, coalition is not as strong as it once was

Divided Government

• Nixon (R) won in 1968 (left in 1972 over Watergate)• Ford (R) could not beat Jimmy Carter (D) in 1976• Carter hindered by Iranian hostage crisis and loses to

Ronald Reagan (R)• Reagan retires and George H. Bush (R) becomes

president• Clinton (D) defeats Bush in 1992• Clinton retires and George W. Bush (R) becomes

president in very close elections with Gore and Kerry • Democrats take back the White House and Congress in

the 2008, election – Democrats hold the White House and the Senate in 2012.

Why a Two Party System?

1. Historical: Founding Fathers, “agents of divisiveness and disunity”

2. Force of Tradition: Began with a two-party system, has always been a two-party system

3. The Electoral System: Single Member District- winner take all; only one can win or plurality- the largest number of votes wins. Both parties Shape election laws to protect the two-party system

4. American Ideological Consensus (general agreement): All Americans share the same ideals, principles and patterns of belief

Both Parties…

• Are moderate (“Big Tent” Ideology)

• Try to attract as many voters as possible

• Are built on compromise and try to occupy the middle of the road

• Take policy positions that do not differ a great deal from those of the other major party

Party Decay?

• Proportion of people who identify with a party on the decline since 1960.

• Split ticket voting increase

• Electoral Dealignment? A lessening of party loyalties in voting decisions

Party Ideology

• Liberal: advocates change, new philosophies, new ideas (Left, Democrats)

• Conservative: Avoids change, status quo or return to earlier times (Right, Republicans)

LIBERALS

• Usually embrace freedom of choice in personal matters

• Support significant government control of the economy and advocate regulation of business

• Favor environmental regulations• Defend civil liberties and free expression• Support government action to promote

equality, and tolerate diverse lifestyles.

Conservatives

• Tend to favor economic freedom and a free-market economy

• Frequently support laws to restrict personal behavior that violates traditional values

• Oppose excessive government control of business

• Endorses government action to defend morality and the traditional family structure

• Support a strong military• Oppose bureaucracy and high taxes, • Endorse strong law enforcement

Are you Liberal or Conservative?

• Balanced Politics• Quiz

• Political Spectrum:

• Communism ---- Social Democracy ----- Liberalism ----- Centrism ----- Conservatism ----- Reactionism ----- Fascism

• http://www.gallup.com/poll/151943/record-high-americans-identify-independents.aspx

Multiparty Systems

• Several major and many minor parties control government

• Based on economic class, interest, religious belief, or political ideology

• Broader representation of the electorate• Greater choice• Coalitions: temporary alliance of several groups

who come together to form a working majority and control the government

• Europe, other mature democracies

One Party Systems

• Dictatorships (China, Cuba)

• Party of the ruling group/person

• Many states always vote either for Democrats or Republicans

Party Membership Patterns

Democrats:http://www.democrats.org/African AmericansCatholicsJewsUnion MembersLatinosOther minoritiesProfessionalsFarmersEducated Women

Republicans:http://www.rnc.org/White Males

Protestants

Business Community

Party Membership Patterns

People identify with a party:• Family• Events (War, Depression)• Economic Status (Higher: Republican, lower:

Democrats)• Age• Place of Residence• Level of Education• Work Environment

Minor Parties

• Difficult to describe and classify

• Usually based on one idea or issue

• Short-Lived

• Have no shot of electing a president to office

Minor Parties

Four Types:

1. Ideological Parties: Based on a particular set of beliefs (Marxist’s and Libertarian)

2. Single-Issue Party: Focus on one public-policy matter (Right to Life Party)

3. Economic Protest Parties: Rooted in periods of economic turmoil (Greenback’s)

4. Splinter Parties: Split away from the major parties (Bull Moose)

Why Minor Parties are Important

• First used a national convention to recruit presidential candidates (1831)

• Spoiler Role • Critic and innovator of major parties- take

stands on controversial issues (progressive income tax: Larger % from higher income, lower % from lower

income. Gun control, women’s suffrage, old-age pensions)

Minor Parties

• Reform Party: Ross Perot • Libertarian Party• Natural Law• Constitution• Socialist• Prohibition• Green• http://www.americafirstparty.org/• http://www.gp.org/index.php

Social Movements

• What is a social movement?

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_movement

• The Tea Party

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Party_movement

• Occupy Wall Street

• http://occupywallst.org/

Party Organization

• Decentralized, Fragmented, Disjointed• Full of factions• Internal squabbling • No chain of command from National to State to Local level• Local units independent of State units• http://www.c-spanclassroom.org/

VideoDetail.aspx?video_id=423

Party Organization

• The Role of the Presidency: Party more cohesive and organized. President is party leader- minor party leaderless/powerless

• Impact of Federalism: Government is decentralized, so are parties

• Nominating Process: candidate selection is an intraparty process and the process is divisive. Members within each party fight for nomination, fragments the party.

• http://c-spanclassroom.org/VideoDetail.aspx?Video_ID=426

Political Parties 3 components:1. Party Organization: Decides

leaders2. Party in the electorate: Those

who vote the straight party ticket3. Party in Government: Office

holdersWeakened state of the party:1. Sharp drop in loyal party voters2. Increase in split-ticket voting3. Reform: Parties more open,

more fragmented4. Use of the Media5. Growth of single-issue

organizations

Any Final Questions?