Political Parties
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Vocabulary
Political Party: A group of people that try to control and influence the government by getting people elected to political office
Major Party: Political parties that are supported by a large number of people and have significant influence the government
Minor Party: A political party that is not supported by a large number of people
Purposes of Political Parties
Nominate Candidates Narrow down voters’ choices, select candidates that best
represent the ideology of the party Develop a Platform
Goals and statements that clarify the goals of the elected officials in the party
Educate the Public Primarily about the candidates in the party, but also on key
focus issues Rally Voters
Motivate people to TURN OUT to vote “Bonding Agent”
Makes sure candidates are qualified and stick to party ideals while in office- “gluing” the party together
Major and Minor Parties
In the United States, our major parties are REPUBLICANS and DEMOCRATS
Political ideology: Republicans: tend to be more
conservative Democrats: tend to be more liberal
Similarities of Major Parties in U.S.
All value personal rights, freedoms
Educational opportunities for all
Economic opportunities for all
Government duty- to protect nation
Preserve environment Help citizens
Differences
Disagree on ways to meet goals Example:
Democrats- government directly helps the poor
Republicans- government helps economy and poor get jobs
America’s two party system
Political parties are NOT mentioned in the Constitution
But, America has a TWO PARTY SYSTEM, meaning there are two major parties that have most of the influence in our government
Benefits of a two party system: Stability Continuity
Why do we have a two party system? Started with Federalists and Anti Federalists Once two major viewpoints were established, we
naturally evolved to a 2 party system- and now, its all that we know
It is difficult for a minor party to be successful in elections
The Symbols
Over time, symbols have been associated with the political parties
Originally, the parties did not CHOOSE their symbols
Political cartoonists startedusing them as a way to poke fun at the parties
Thomas Nast was actually the cartoonist responsible for the creation of these animals in his political cartoons. Nast’s cartoons were published in Harper’s Weekly, and he is considered the man behind these symbols
Meaning of the symbols
What are some negative connotations/perceptions that can be associated with: The Donkey The elephant
What about positive connotations?
Third parties Third parties or minor parties are OTHER
parties in the United States that have a smaller support base
There are several types: Ideological party: united by a belief in a political
ideology (i.e. communist party) Single Issue party: united by their support of ONE
major issue (i.e. Green Party- the environment) Economic Protest: United by dissatisfaction with a
current economic situation Splinter party : A group of major party supporters
that have split away from the major party
Tea Party AnalysisDirections: Your group is going to receive ONE of 3 different articles/polls about the Tea party, you are to read the report and complete the part of the chart below that relates to the information in front of you.
Who is the Tea Party?
What do Tea Partiers believe?
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