American Government
Political Parties
Political Parties & the Founders
• Political parties are complicated, important informal institutions
of government that are difficult to evaluate in the American
context
• A. Many of the Founders were profoundly uncomfortable with
the notion of parties
• 1. they wanted some type of government by consensus where
parties would play little in any role
• 2. summarized by George Washington in his 1796 farewell
address: "Let me warn you in the most solemn manner against
the baneful effects of the spirit of party generally."
• B. That general distaste for parties has echoed through
American history
• 1. many Americans equate parties with back room deals, smoke
filled rooms, corruption, etc.
• 2. it is common to hear both Democrats and Republicans wail
against partisanship and to equate following the "party line" with
voting against the best interest of the people
• 3. Tocqueville concurred: “Parties are an evil inherent in free
governments”
Parties in Perspective: PoliSci
• C. Contrast that with the attitude of most
political scientists, who believe that political
parties are essential to democracy
• 1. E. E. Schattschneider: "political parties created
democracy"
• 2. His argument  parties form a critical link
between the public and the institutions of
government
• 3. Parties serve to educate, mobilize, crystallize,
and organize public opinion, and
• 4. to discipline the officials who serve in
government
• 5. Without parties, politics becomes chaos and
democratic politics becomes impossible
Parties Defined
• A political party  is an organization that seeks to
attain political power within a government, usually
by participating in electoral campaigns.
• Political parties  organizations that seek to elect
candidates to public office by supplying them with a
label by which they are known to the public
• Political parties  mechanism through which voter
preferences can be translated into coherent public
policy
• Notice:
• 1. different from interest groups
• 2. parties supply the labels; they contest the elections; they
structure the public debate — they aggregate
Characteristics of Political Parties: 1
Let's place American parties in perspective by considering SIX
characteristics that distinguish them.
First, there are only two major parties
• 1. primarily a function of moderate, unimodal electorate and
single member district electoral structure (also electoral
college)
• 2. structure provides incentive for parties to be large,
inclusive, and for composite groups to make deals under the
party umbrella, before an election
• -contrast with PR systems, where deals are made between parties
after an election
• -results in coalition governments
• 3. one of the results is that "3rd parties" are small and
relatively unimportant in U.S.
Types of Third Parties
Types of 3rd Parties:
• -ideological — e.g., Socialists (last longest)
• -single issue — e.g., Prohibition (fade with
their single issue)
• -economic protest — e.g., Populists (fade as
economy improves)
• -factional — Bull Moose, Dixiecrats (usually
single election phenomena)
• Generally, minor parties are subsumed by
the two major parties, who adopt their ideas
Characteristics of Political Parties: 2
Second, parties are decentralized organizations
1. For most purposes, parties are organized at the
state level
2. National party HQ provides little coordination
3. Principal purpose of national party is to nominate
presidential and VP candidates — only every four
years
4. Generally speaking GOP is more centrally organized
than the Democrats
Characteristics of Political Parties: 3 & 4
Third, leadership is diffused
1. power is split between organizational leaders and
public office holders
2. incumbent president names national party leaders
Fourth, American parties are less ideological than
parties in most other developed countries
1. Parties are more pragmatic than ideological — seek
to win elections first and foremost
2. a function of our system — both parties seek to
appeal to moderate voters in the middle
3. Less true of party out of power
Smaller parties tend to be more homogenous and hence
more ideological parties
Prominent Theories of Party Competition
• One of the most important theories of party
competition is the Median Voter Theorem (MVT).
• The theorem was first articulated in Duncan Black's
1948 article, "On the Rationale of Group Decisionmaking" and popularized by Anthony Downs's 1957
book, An Economic Theory of Democracy.
• Simply put, the MVT suggests that parties will
gravitate towards the center of a unimodal
electorate, because victory can only be found in the
middle (where the median voter is located).
• Parties that locate elsewhere (say, at the extremes)
will lose, as voters choose the party closest to them.
Parties Gravitate to the Center
One possible model; here, if parties A and B want to
catch the median voters, they should move to the
centre. The red and blue areas represent the voters that
A and B expect they have already caught.
Characteristics of Political Parties: 5
Fifth, American parties are less responsible than parties in most
western democracies
• Responsible parties are parties whose elected officials are
disciplined, vote a straight party line, and can collectively be
held responsible by the public.
Not True of U.S.:
• Party leaders cannot control who runs on their ticket (e.g.,
Duke in La., LaRouche in Ill.)
• -rather, candidates are usually chosen in primaries
• Parties offer relatively little support for candidates —
campaigns are candidate-centered; they raise $, organize
staff, advertise, etc.
• -rooted in 1st amendment
• -contrast with Great Britain
• Government structure makes responsibility harder
• -staggered elections
• -possibility of split party control of government
• -considerable power in hands of minority (filibuster in Senate)
• Public is not disciplined
Characteristics of Political Parties: 6
Sixth, Americans are not committed to party
politics
• 1. Generally, politics is not as passionate as
in other places (see Tocqueville: Americans
would rather make money)
• 2. Specifically, not as committed to parties
• a. social mobility undermines
• b. we value independence
• c. parties require nothing in exchange for
membership
What Parties Do
What do parties do?
• Generally speaking, primary purpose is to
facilitate government
• 1. party in power — staffs government, controls
policy
• 2. party out of power — loyal opposition, offers
an alternative
• Fulfill this purpose at three levels
• 1. party in the electorate
• 2. party as organization
• 3. party in government
Party in the Electorate
Party in the electorate performs three functions:
• 1. provide an identification
• 2. socializes the population
• a. educates voters about issues and candidates
• b. motivates and mobilizes participants to turn out and vote
• 3. channels the political energies of the population
• a. parties help guide and focus a messy, multi-faceted
political process
• b. parties help people make sense of politics by
• -serving as an economizing device — vote on the basis of
party ID, less need to collect other information (people are
“cognitive misers”)
• -serving as a perceptual screen — they screen out some
information, lower cognitive dissonance, makes action easier
• In sum, help the people articulate their core
interests
Party as Organization
Party as organization helps with the
nomination and election of candidates
• 1. recruit potential candidates
• 2. serve as a cue giver to the public
• A label to rally around
• A signal-giver on important issues of the
day
• 3. provide resources
Party in Government
Party in government performs two basic
functions
• 1. Organize governmental machinery when
in the majority
• a. staff the leadership of Congress
• b. fill posts in the executive branch
• c. fill vacancies in the judicial branch
• 2. Serves as loyal opposition when in the
minority
• a. watches the majority to keep it honest
• b. provides the public with an alternative ready to
take power
Parties in American History
The history of political progress in the U.S. is
largely the history of partisan change
A. The "mainsprings" of political development
are realignments
B. Loosely defined as events that result in the
emergence of a new majority party, or in
the reshuffling of coalitions with-in parties
to change the nature of the majority party
C. There have been five in American history
D. Each has been associated with major
changes in policy
Realignments: What & Why
Party realignments
• 1. Definition: sharp, lasting shift in the popular coalition
supporting one or both parties
• 2. Occurrences: change in issues that distinguish the parties,
so supporting voters change
• Often characterized by a “critical election” where majority
party looses a substantial number of seats and control of
government
Types:
• 1. Major party disappears and new party emerges (1800,1860)
• 2. Voters shift from one party to another (1896, 1932)
Why?
• Generational?
• Exogenous Shocks?
First Party System:
Realignment of 1800
A. Thomas Jefferson elected president
B. Jeffersonian Democrats replace the Federalists as
the majority party
C. Policy change from preference for 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 retreated to Supreme Court
• Ceased being a viable electoral party altogether
F. This "party system" ends in early 1820s with virtual
one party rule --- the "era of good feelings"
Second Party System:
Realignment of 1828
A. this major realignment of parties coalesces around Andrew
Jackson --- general, war hero, populist
B. followers of Jackson become Democrats; majority party
C. his opponents = Whigs (heirs of the old Federalists) - minority
D. Jackson draws the majority of his support from the South and
West
• 1. populist in spirit -- mass participation
• 2. believes in limited government, led by president
• 3. battles Congress and Court
E. Whigs believe in more active government centered around
Congress
• 1. leaders included Henry Clay and Daniel Webster
F. This party system breaks down over slavery issue
• 1. issue is a valence issue = cuts across party lines
• 2. northern and southern branches of both parties develop over
extension of slavery into the territories
Third Party System:
Realingment of 1860
A. A new party emerges out of the slavery issue = Republicans
B. GOP becomes the dominant party for 60 years; Democrats are
the minority
C. GOP is the party of the Union and of abolition
• 1. they are also the party of business, national expansion
• 2. draw most support from northeast/midwest (tariff) and west
(land policies); some support in South from freed slaves
D. Democrats are the minority party
• 1. base of power in South
• 2. northern Democrats were more progressive
• -opposed to high tariffs
• -favored womens suffrage, income tax, free silver
• 3. only presidential victories between 1860 and 1932 =
• -Grover Cleveland (1885-1889, 1893-1897), and
• -Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)
• -occured during splits in GOP
E. From 1860 until 1896, Democrats and GOP roughly even
Fourth Party System:
Realignment of 1896
A. Solidified Republican majority, but also contributed
to splits within the party
B. Democrats move to the left, following the populist
policies of William Jennings Bryant, a charismatic,
fundamentalist, populist
C. Alienates many Democrats in the north and east
D. GOP becomes much larger, but also less
homogenous
• 1. regulars (Old Guard) vs. mugwumps (Progressives)
• 2. split in party in 1912 gives election to Wilson
E. Experience of 1912 loss, resolidifies party (TR
passes from the scene) and during 1920s, GOP
becomes strongly associated with conservative,
pro-business policies
Fifth Party System:
Realignment of 1932
A. Brought on by the Great Depression
B. 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
Fifth Party System Continued
E. Powerful majority coalition consisting of
•
•
•
•
1.
2.
3.
4.
labor
southern whites
northern blacks
ethnic groups (Catholic, Jews)
F. Led to development of social welfare state
in U.S.
• 1. Social Security, welfare, unemployment
• 2. federal government becomes responsible for
economy in Employment Act of 1946
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
• -RMN, Reagan Democrats
C. Some Catholics have defected over abortion
D. Obviously, coalition is not as strong as it once was
Realignment w/o Critical Election?
• Initially Republicans were unable to capitalize on the
New Deal crackup
• GOP victories largely personal -- RMN, RR
• Democrats were the institutional party in Congress (except
for Senate 1980-1986; House post-1994)
• Democrats controlled majority of state legislatures (30 both
houses, 14 one house) and governors' mansions (28) as of
1988.
• However, the Republicans have since gained control
of both Houses as well as a majority of state
governors & legislatures (although still fairly evenly
split).
• This occurred over a long period: 1980 - 1994
Sixth Party System?
• Was there a realigning “critical” election in 1980?
1994?
• Are we currently within the midst of a Republicandominated 6th party system?
• Or, have realignments ended?
• 1. are we now in an era of dealignment --- less
commitment to parties, less discipline, more split ticket
voting
• 2. fates of different offices have been decoupled
• Note, if so:
• makes responsible party government harder
• weakens the "mainspring" of policy change is it possible to
have major changes without realignment?