Political Parties and Politics
• Obj:– 1. How did political parties come to exist? – 2. Describe the
structure of today’s political parties.
• EQ:
– How did
Washington’s Warning Against
Political Parties
• George
Washington
warned that there should be no
political “factions” in our government
• Warned against “Internal
What is a Political Party?
• Group of voters with common interests who want to elect
candidates who share the same interests
• Parties form because people have different opinions
about political issues
• Political parties allow people with similar views about
Polit. Party
Membership
• Is not
required by law – you may choose to be a party member or not
Why do people choose one party
over another?
• People choose to belong to a polit. party b/c it shares their beliefs about politics & the role of govt.
– The party members pick, or nominate, candidates who also share their beliefs – Parties then try to
U.S. has a Two Party
System
• Only two major polit.
parties in U.S. since 1860
– Democrats
– Republicans
• Each party has millions of members
Democratic Party (a.k.a. the
Democrats)
• Founded by Anti-Federalists like Thomas Jefferson
• Oldest polit. party in U.S. & the world.
• Formed in opposition to Alexander Hamilton (a Federalist)
• Federalists favored a strong central government, a loose interpretation of the
Constitution, and well-educated
The Democratic Party, or as it was called then, the
Democractic-Republican Party,
favored big farmers, strict construction (interpretation of the Constitution),
Democratic Party, Cont’d.
• First called the
Democratic-Republican Party
• Led by Thomas Jefferson
• Wanted:
– Less power for national govt.
– More power for the individual state
govts. – Strict
When Andrew
Jackson was U.S. pres., the party
became known as the Democratic Party
Republican Party
• Group that broke
away from both the Democratic and
Whig Parties joined to form the new
Republican Party
Parties that eventually became the Repub. Party
• Started w/ Alexander Hamilton - was Jefferson’s rival in
politics
• Wanted strong nat’l. govt.
– Started the Federalist Party which gradually faded away
– Fed. Party became Whig Party (a.k.a. the Nat’l Republicans)
challenged the Democratic Party in 1830 presidential election
Abraham Lincoln
• First Republican to become U.S.
president
• Won election as the first Republican
Advantage of the 2-Party System
• Since Civil War, Dems & Repubs have had almost equal strength
• Both tend to offer ideas & policies that are not too extreme and
come as close to public opinion as they can
– Purpose: Attract and keep as many voters as possible with their own party
Third Parties
• No 3rd party has ever won a presidential
election
• They rarely win other major elections (U.S. Senate/House,
governorships, etc.)
• All have one thing in
Nationally Organized 3rd Parties Today
• Reform Party
• Libertarian Party • Green Party
• Constitution Party (formerly the U.S. Taxpayers)
• Natural Law Party
• Each of these five parties has received 100,000 votes or more for at least one of its candidates in the past 20
Third Parties, Cont’d.
Populist Party
• Formed in 1890
– Made up of farmers and workers
• Dems. & Repubs.
adopted ideas from Populists
– 8-hour workday
Why did the Populist Party Form?
Changes in Prices
of Food
• Until 1800, farmers had been using the same farming
equipment for hundreds, if not
thousands, of years.
• By 1850 a horse-powered mowing
Third Parties Cont’d.
• Progressive (or Bull Moose) Party
– Broke away from the Republican Party
– Led by Teddy Roosevelt, who had already been President of the
U.S. for two terms
– T.R. ran again as a Progressive, instead of as a Republican
– Third Party as “spoiler” –
Roosevelt took so many votes
Taft, Republican
Begin Notes – Wed., Nov. 10,
2010
Types of Political Parties
• http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1651597/posts
Single-Issue Parties
• 3rd Party that’s
formed only to promote one social, economic, or moral issue
• They form to address a single issue
– Prohibitionist Party of 1872: Wanted to outlaw alcohol
Ideological Parties
• Focus is on changing society in major ways
– Green Party
• Opposes the power of big corporations and favors
decision-making at the local (grassroots) level
– Socialist Labor Party & Communist Party USA
• Support govt. ownership of factories, farms,
Ideological Parties Cont’d.
Independent Candidates
• Sometimes a 3rd Party
forms around a person who cannot get support from
the Dems or Repubs
– John Anderson and the Independent Party
Difficulty for Independent Candidates
• 1) Rarely have enough $$$ to compete with Dems. or Repubs.
• 2) Must have a certain
number of voter signatures to get their name on the
ballot in each state
Difficulty for Independent Candidates, Cont’d.
• 3) Congressional
districts only get to elect one member to the HOR
– Since most people vote as Dem. or Repub., only
Other Party Systems
• Multi-Party Systems (MPS’s):
– 3 or more political parties compete for control of the government
• Most other democracies have MPS’s • If all parties have equal support from
Multi-Party Systems, Cont’d.
• Coalition: When 2 or more polit. parties agree to compromise & work together so one can get elected
• Advantage: All members of
coalition can get something for the people who support them
• Problem: Parties often disagree after the election and coalition breaks down, so nothing gets done in the govt. while that coalition is in office
Multiparty Systems Cont’d.
• Volatile situation that breaks down easily and becomes politically
unstable
• This means that nothing gets accomplished in the govt. legislature
One Party Systems
• The political party and thegovt. are the same thing
• China – Communist Party – only party allowed to exist in China, and only Communist candidates can be elected to office
• Iran – Muslim religious leaders control only polit.
party (the Islamic Republican Party.)
Today’s Major U.S. Parties
• Major difference among Dems. and Repubs. is their belief in how much the govt. should be involved in the lives of Americans
– Ex: Dems. believe the govt. should be more
involved in the economy and in making sure that poor people have housing, income, education and jobs
– Ex: Repubs. believe that if they help the
economy grow , poor people will have a better chance of helping themselves without govt. assistance
• Repubs. favor less govt. regulation of the economy as the best way to promote
How Political Parties are
Organized Today
Dem’s. & Repub’s.: How They are Organized on Nat’l Level
• Each party has a nat’l committee
– 50 reps per nat’l party committee – one from each state
National Committees Cont’d.
– Committee helps raise $$$ for pres.
Party Organization Cont’d.
• Each nat’l committee has a nat’l party
chairperson
– Runs the committee, manages the main office, directs
committee staff, lead fundraising efforts
National Convention
• Event where party nominates its
candidates for Pres. and V.P.
Polit. Party Platform
• Delegates write the party’s “platform” at the convention
• Platform: Document that says what the party believes & its positions on election issues
• Plank: Each individual part of the platform
• Ex: Positions on abortion rights, taxes, education, military spending, etc.
Two Ways Delegates are Chosen
from each State
• Presidential Primaries
State and Local Organization
• Each party has a state-level committee in ea. of the 50 states
• Goal of each:
– Elect their party’s candidates to state offices like governor, state legislators, etc.
• They also try to get their
candidates into national offices (like pres., v.p., etc.)
• N.C. Democratic Party Website • N.C. Republican Party website
Local Precincts
• City or county is divided into election districts called precincts
• All voters in a precinct vote at same place
• Each precinct has a precinct captain who is in charge of trying to get voters
Ward
• Several adjoining precincts
• Party members from the ward
County Committees
• County chairperson
– Ea. major party has one – Runs county committee
Grassroots Support
• Grassroots
– “On the local
level”
• County Party
Committees drum
up support for
Political Machines
• Name for a strong polit. party
organization
• Tammany Hall -
