Political Parties

Part IPage 418-434

Enter Question Text

A. AB. BC. CD. D

A B C D

43%

0%

21%

36%

What is a Political Party?

• Group of like-minded individuals who seek to elect individual to office under their party

• THE GOAL IS TO WIN OFFICE, NOT JUST COMPETE FOR IT! (p. 419)

• Can be divided into three general entities– Governmental party– Organizational party– Party in the electorate

The concept of realignment refers to changes in

A. International alliancesB. Social bases of the

parties’ voting supportC. Media’s criticism of

the PresidentD. Spending priorities in

the federal budgetE. The rate of voter

participationIntern

ational allia

nces

Social b

ases o

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Media’

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Spending prio

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The rate of v

oter parti

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0%

67%

17%17%

0%

History of Parties

• Critical election: an election that signals a party realignment through voter polarization around new issues. – 1800: Shift in power from Federalists to Democratic-

Republicans – 1860: Republican party picks up many northern

Democrats who opposed slaver, Lincoln elected president

– 1932: Roosevelt coalition • Banking and oil industries, labor unions, blue collar workers,

minorities, and white Southerners.

Roosevelt Coalition

• 1932-1964• House and Senate dominated by Democrats in all

but four years• Coalition

Which of the following statements about political parties and the Constitution is true?

A. Only two major parties may exist

B. Constitution requires parties be restricted by both federal and state law

C. Political party leaders at the national level must be elected by party leaders at the local level

D. Political party leaders must be native born

E. Political parties are not addressed in the Constitution Only tw

o major p

arties m

..

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.

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0%

8%

31%

15%

46%

History of Parties

• Constitution=NOTHING• George Washington warned the country about

political parties in his farewell speech. • Alexander Hamilton’s Federalists and Thomas

Jefferson’s Democratic-Republicans

First Party System

• Federalists v. Democratic-Republicans– John Adams was the only Federalists to win– Jefferson, Madison, Monroe each win twice– By 1820, Federalists eventually dissolved, failed to

run a candidate• Era of Good Feelings– 1820 and 1824– Only one competitive party

Second Party System

• 1828-1852• Democrats vs. Whigs• Andrew Jackson becomes Democrats leader– 1828: first mass election with expansion of electorate

• Whigs formed from Jackson’s haters, old Federalists Party– Division of Slavery ends the Whig Party

Third Party System

• Democrats and Republicans• 1860-Present• Election of 1860– Republican Party elects Lincoln– Anti-slavery northern Democrats defect towards Lincoln

and the Republican Party– Party realignment

• “Golden Age”– 1874-1912: remarkable stability for the two major

parties

The term “party machine” usually refers to

A. Large national party organization that is hierarchically structured

B. Local party organization that relies heavily on the voluntary labor of all its members

C. Local party organization that is tightly disciplined and well staffed and relies on patronage to create party loyalty

D. Party organization in which political favors are distributed by national leaders in repayment for large contributions

E. Party organization in which major platform decisions are made behind closed doors rather than at national convenntions

Large national p

arty org...

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30

Party Machines

• More prominent during the 1800 and early 1900’s

• Patronage: jobs, grants, or special favors that are given as rewards to friends and political allies for their support

• Immigrants were given tangible resources (jobs, food, temporary housing) in exchange for party support and votes

• Ended with the migration to the suburbs

When people vote for candidates from one party and other candidates from another, it is called

A. DealignmentB. RealignmentC. RepublicanismD. Ticket splittingE. Caucusing

Dealignment

Realignment

Republicanism

Ticket s

plitting

Caucusin

g

0% 0% 0%0%0%

30

Which of the following is a type of primary election that requires registration as a party affiliate to vote?

A. BlanketB. ClosedC. GeneralD. OpenE. Plebiscite

Blanket

Closed

GeneralOpen

Plebiscite

20% 20% 20%20%20%

Are Political Parties in Decline?

• Direct Primaries: the selection of party candidates through the ballots of qualified voters rather than at party nomination conventions

• Civil service laws: Appointment on the basis of merit and competitive exams, removed patronage from parties

• Issue-oriented politics: Politics focus on issues rather than parties– Ticket-split voting: voting for candidates from one party

and other candidates from another party

The persistence of the two-party system in the United States is best accounted for by

A. 12th AmendmentB. Proportional

representationC. Mulitmember

legislative districtsD. Single-member

legislative districtsE. Strong party loyalty of

elected representatives 12th

Amendment

Proporti

onal repre

sentation

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ember legisl

ative ...

Single-member le

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...

Strong party

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0% 0% 0%0%0%

30

Political Parties Endure

• Tradition, two-party system since 1800– Single-member legislative districts: election in

which the person with the most votes wins• Allows for mass participation in a

representative democracy• Competitive parties/elections are necessary in

a democracy• Party Polarization: divisive issues tend to

separate people/parties

Functions of Political Parties

• Keep the main goal in mind– Mobilizing support i.e. coalitions– Raise funds/support for their candidates’ campaigns– Nominate Candidates for Office– Provide a platform of issues for the people– Provides cues for voters: can use the party to decide

how to vote on issues– Linkage institution: links all branches of government

How are political parties organized? 12.2

Basic Structure of Political Parties

• National Function– Quadrennial National Convention– Party’s National Chairperson– Party’s National Committee

• State and Local Functions– State conventions– Party activists and volunteers– Get out the Vote drives

Every four years the parties nominate a presidential candidate through a

A. PlatformB. ConventionC. ConferenceD. National committeeE. Filibuster

Platform

Convention

Conference

National c

ommittee

Filibuste

r

20% 20% 20%20%20%

National Convention

• Every 4 years, summer before presidential elections– Nominate presidential and vice-presidential

candidates– Sets the platform for the party

Think Tanks

• Informal group, unconnected to the party in an official way

• Policy-oriented researchers who are sources of policy ideas

• Can helps shape the party platform