chapter 17 political parties - dentonisd.org of political parties ... •parties before the civil...

POLITICAL PARTIES

CHAPTER 17

LESSON 1

DEVELOPMENT OF POLITICAL PARTIES

FUNCTIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES

• Definition: a group of people with broad common

interests who organize to win elections and control

government

• Goal: to influence government policies

• Success is defined as winning!

• After the win, parties must: govern; work with

members of the opposing party; implement policies

they campaigned for; and, prepare for the next

election


• Electing Candidates

• recruit men and women to run for office who

seem to have a good chance of being elected.

• raise money for campaigns

• organize rallies and meetings to create

enthusiasm for their candidates

NOT what a party

wants!


• Involving People in the Political Process

• parties provide numerous opportunities for people to affect government

• local political parties allow people to become involved in campaigns by helping to register other voters, putting up signs, or donating money

• parties need people to serve as election judges and poll-watchers on Election Day


• Operating the Government

• parties also play a key role in running and staffing the executive and legislative branches of government

• Congress and the state legislatures are organized and carry on their work on the basis of party affiliation

• parties also acts as a link between a legislature and a chief executive

• Sometimes this doesn’t work when there is divided government!


• Dispensing Patronage

• patronage is giving out rewards for party loyalty

• these rewards often include jobs, contracts, and

appointments to government positions

• patronage may be improper if inexperienced

people get key jobs as a reward just because

they donated a lot of money to a winning

candidate


• Developing and Implementing Policy

• members work through the legislatures to pass

laws to deal with important issues and work

through the executive branch to implement

government programs in line with their beliefs and

priorities


• Government Watchdog

• the party that is out of power in the legislative or executive branch has the job of being a “watchdog” over the government

• It observes the party that is in power, criticizes it, and offers solutions to political problems

• public opinion might change to favor the opposition if the opposition party does this successfully


• Providing Stability

• the transfer of power from one party to another takes place peacefully

• the losing party accepts the outcome of elections.

• it knows that the party will continue to exist as the opposing party and someday will return to power.

PARTY SYSTEMS

• One-Party Systems

• usually found in nations with authoritarian governments

• Cuba, Vietnam, North Korea, and China are all one-party Communist governments

• Two-Party Systems

• Very rare – only about a dozen countries use this system

• The United States is the best example

• Multi-Party Systems

• these systems are more common in countries with parliamentary governments.

• France and Italy each have more than 15 political parties that can influence the government

EVOLUTION OF AMERICAN PARTIES

• Parties Before the Civil War

• Federalists & Democratic-Republicans (1796-1824)

• Election of 1824

• Democrats & Whigs (1828-1856)

• Democrats split between the North and the South

• Democrats & Republicans (1860-1864)

EVOLUTION OF AMERICAN PARTIES

• Parties After the Civil War

• Democrats and Republicans

MINOR OR THIRD PARTIES

• any party other than one of the two major parties;

called minor parties because they rarely win

elections


• Types of Third Parties

• Single-Issue Parties - focus exclusively on one major social, economic, or moral issue; usually short-lived

• Ideological Parties - has a particular set of ideas about how to change society rather than focusing on a single issue; longest lived

• Splinter Parties - separates from one of the major parties because of some disagreement


• Impact of Third Parties

• have influenced the outcome of national

elections; 1912, 1968, 2000

• influence politics by suggesting new ideas;

women’s suffrage (Socialist Party), child labor

laws (Socialist and Populist Parties), 40-hour

work week (Populist Party), environmental

issues (Green Party)


• Obstacles for Third parties

• face difficulties in getting on the ballot in all 50

states as a result of the two-party tradition

• nearly all elected officials in the United States are

selected by single-member districts where the

winner is the person with the most votes – this

favors the major parties

• have problems paying for campaigns

• get less media attention

LESSON 2

PARTY IDEOLOGY & IDENTIFICATION

POLITICAL IDEOLOGY

• ideology is: a set of basic beliefs about life, culture, government, and society

• people on the left of the political spectrum usually

have a liberal ideology

• people on the right of the political spectrum

usually have a conservative ideology

• most Americans fall somewhere along a

spectrum between those two ends

POLITICAL IDEOLOGY

• Liberals

• typically believe that the proper role of

government is to actively promote health,

education, and justice; and,

• are willing to reduce economic freedom in order

to increase equality

POLITICAL IDEOLOGY

• Conservatives

• believe that citizens can better solve their

problems without government involvement;

• support “traditional family values”; and,

• may support a government role in protecting

what they see as a moral lifestyle

POLITICAL IDEOLOGY

• Moderates

• fall somewhere in between liberal and

conservative

• some believe in strong free markets and reduced

government regulation of the economy

• they may also support liberal social causes such

as affirmative action

POLITICAL IDEOLOGY

• A political ideology can give a person an organized

way of looking at government and public policy

• It can also give a person clues about which political

party they identify with

• In recent decades, the Democratic Party has been

more associated with liberals and moderate-

liberals; The Republican Party has been more

associated with conservatives and moderate-

conservatives.

PARTY PLATFORMS

• Both parties believe America should have a mixed

capitalist economy. Both parties support the

Constitution and the Bill of Rights

• Both believe in the value of private property and

support individual achievement

• But . . . the two parties disagree on many key social,

economic, and business issues

• Each party sets out a platform, or statement of its

beliefs on issues, which are issued at the party’s

nominating convention

ASSIGNMENT

• Create a slide show – using google slides – about

each of the party platforms

• You may either use the book (pages 521-522) or

google.

• When you have completed the assignment, make

sure you share you slides with me. I will make a

copy for you and your partner.

• DON’T forget to put your name on the slides!

chapter 17 political parties - dentonisd.org of political parties ... •parties before the civil...

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