Unit 3 – Notes
Unit 3 – Political Parties
I.
Parties and What They Do
A. What is a Party?
 Political party = a group of persons who seek to control the government
through the winning of elections and holding of public office.

What are the (2) major parties in the United States?

Another more specific definition is a political party is a group of persons who
want to control government for what purpose?
 The (2) major parties in the US do not fit this definition; they are more
election oriented.
B. What do Parties Do?
 It is clear from American history that political parties are essential to
democratic government.
 They are the medium through which options are presented to the people.
 Parties are a link between people and their government.
 How do they work to ‘blunt’ conflict?
1. Nominating Candidates
 The major function of a political party is to nominate (or name)
candidates for public office.
 Once a candidate is nominated, what then is the party’s function?
2. Informing and Activating Supporters
 Big job for political parties is to inform the people.
 What are (3) examples of this?

Parties conduct this ‘educational’ process through pamphlets, signs,
buttons and stickers; with advertisements; in speeches and rallies.
1
Unit 3 – Notes
3. The Bonding Agent Function
 In business, a bond is an agreement that protects a person or company
against loss caused by a third party.
 EXPLAIN the ‘bonding agent’ function in politics.
The party also prompts its successful candidates to perform well in office.
 What happens if the party fails with this?

4. Governing
 Congress and the State legislatures are organized on party lines and they
conduct much of their business on the basis of partisanship -DEFINE

In the complicated separation of powers agreement, the executive and
legislative branches must cooperate with one another if anything is to get
accomplished.
 Political parties can help the two branches work together.
5. Acting as Watchdog
 Parties act as watchdogs over the conduct of the public’s business – when
is this particularly true?


In American politics the party in power is the party that controls the
executive branch of government (President/national; Governor/state)
Party out of power plays the role of ‘loyal opposition’. - EXPLAIN
2
Unit 3 – Notes
II.
The Two-Party System
 A minor party is one of the many political parties without wide voter support.
 DESCRIBE the two-party in American politics
A. Why a Two-Party System?
 A number of factors help to explain why America has had and continues to have
a two-party system:
1. The Historical Basis
 The Framers of the Constitution were opposed to political parties.
 The American party system began as a two-party system over what issue?
2. The Force of Tradition
 Once established, human institutions are likely to be self-perpetuating.
 Why do most Americans accept the idea of a two-party system?
3. The Electoral System
 Several features of the American electoral system to tend to promote the
existence of but two major parties:
 Single member districts = contests in which only one candidate is
elected to each office on the ballot.
 What does plurality mean in the election?
 Much of American election law is purposely written to discourage
non-major party candidates
- Republicans and Democrats work in a bipartisan (work together)
way.
- How do they major parties make it difficult for the smaller ones?
4. The American Ideological Consensus
 Over time, the American people have shared many of the same ideas, the
same basic principles, and the same patterns of belief.
 Americans are not alike; the US is a pluralistic society. EXPLAIN


Americans come to a consensus (a general agreement among various
groups) on fundamental matters, but the nation has been divided at times
How has this ideological consensus made the 2 major parties look alike?
3
Unit 3 – Notes
B. Multiparty Systems
 A system in which several major and many lesser parties exist, seriously compete
for, and actually win, public offices – European democracies.
 What are the parties in this system based on? Give examples
 Weakness here is that one party is often unable to win the support of a majority
of the voters.
 The result is that that power to govern must be shared by a number of parties in
a coalition. DEFINE
C. One-Party Systems
 The one-party system is really a ‘no-party’ system.
 In nearly all dictatorships today, only one political party is allowed.
 How can parts of the United States be described as ‘one-party’?
D. Party Membership Patterns
 Membership in a party is purely voluntary – an individual chooses to be a
Democrat, Republican, independent, or join a minor party.
 The two major parties are broadly based in order to attract as much support as
they can – they try to a cross-section of America’s population.
 It is also true that certain segments of the electorate tend to be aligned with one
of the major parties – for a time:
Democrat
Republican
 Individuals identify themselves with a party for many reasons with family as a
key-deciding factor.
4
Unit 3 – Notes
III.
The Two-Party System in American History
A. The Nation’s First Parties
 The conflict over ratification of the Constitution centered on the proper form
and role of government in the US did not end with the ratification.
 They led to the formation of the nation’s first full blown political parties.
Federalists
Democratic-Republicans
Key leader
Appealed to
Role of national
government
View of
Constitution
 Incumbent – current officeholder
B. American Parties: Four Major Eras
 The history of the American party system since 1800 can be divided in to (4)
major periods:
1. The Era of the Democrats: 1800-1860
 Jefferson’s election in 1800 marked the beginning of a period of a
Democratic domination that was to last until the Civil War.
 When had the Federalists disappeared?

By the mid-1820s, the Democrats were splitting up into factions
(conflicting groups)
 Democrats (Andrew Jackson) were a coalition of farmers, debtors,
frontier pioneers and slaveholders. Support from South and West.
 What were the (3) fundamental changes to political landscape?
 Whig Party (Henry Clay, Daniel Webster) a loose coalition of
eastern bankers, merchants and industrialists, large slaveholders.
 Were able to elect (2) presidents based mainly on what?

By the 1850s the growing crisis over slavery split both major parties and
the Republican Party was founded in 1854.
 Ran John C. Fremont in 1856 for the presidency.
5
Unit 3 – Notes
2. The Era of the Republicans: 1860-1932
 The Civil War signaled the beginning of the 2nd era of one-party
domination as the Republicans dominated the national scene for 75 years.
 IDENTIFY supporters of the Republicans

The Democrats, crippled by the war, were able to survive mainly through
their hold on the “Solid South”.
 Worked to rebuild their base, but were only able to elect a president
twice – Grover Cleveland in 1884 and 1892; WHY?

The Election of 1896 was critical in the development of the 2-party system
Republicans
Democrats
Candidate
Supporters
Issues
 Electorate = people eligible to vote
 Sectionalism = emphasizes a devotion to the interests of a particular
region of the country.

The Election of 1912 split the Republicans between incumbent President
Howard Taft and former president Theodore Roosevelt.
 This split enabled whom to win the presidency in 1912 and 1916?
 However, the Republicans were able to win the next (3) elections
throughout the 1920s.
3. The Return of the Democrats: 1932-1968
 The Great Depression began in 1929 had a massive impact on nearly all
aspects of American life; especially on the American political landscape.
 Election of 1932 brought FDR and the Democrats to power:
 What was the Democrats new electoral base?



FDR won 4 elections (1932,1936,1940,1944), than Harry Truman won in
1948.
Who won the Republican’s only (2) presidential victories of this era?
The Republicans return to power was short lived as the Democrats won
in 1960 (John Kennedy) and 1964 (Lyndon Johnson)
6
Unit 3 – Notes
4. The Start of a New Era
 Election of 1968
 Republican Richard Nixon wins in 1968
 What were the Democrats split over?
 Independent candidate George Wallace - last minor party candidate
to win any electoral votes

Election of 1972
 Nixon easily wins reelection over George McGovern and the still
divided Democrats but is forced to resign in 1974 (Watergate).

Election of 1976
 Gerald Ford (who took over for Nixon) lost a close election to Georgia
governor Jimmy Carter.
 What hurt Ford?

Elections of 1980 and 1984
 Republicans back in power with (2) landslide victories by Ronald
Reagan
Election of 1988
 George HW Bush (Reagan’s VP) wins over Michael Dukakis


Elections of 1992 and 1996
 Democrats regain the Presidency with 2 victories by Bill Clinton.
 What role did H. Ross Perot play?

Elections of 2000 and 2004
 Republicans and George W. Bush win (2) very close elections.
 The years since Richard Nixon’s election in 1968 have been marked by divided
government – EXPLAIN
7
Unit 3 – Notes
IV.
The Minor Parties
A. Minor Parties in the United States
 The number and variety of minor parties make it difficult to describe and
classify them.
 Some have limited their efforts to a small area or region; some have tried to woo
the entire nation.
 Most have been short-lived, but a few have existed for decades.
 There are (4) distinct types of minor parties:
1. The ideological parties
 What is this type of party based on?

Most of these minor parties have been built on some shade of Marxist
thought.
EXAMPLES: Socialist, Socialist Labor, Socialist Worker, and
Communist parties.
DESCRIBE the Libertarian Party of today

These parties don’t get to many votes and are usually short lived.


2. The single-issue parties
 Focus on only one public-policy matter and their names usually indicate
their primary concern.
 Examples are:
 Free Soil Party =
 American or Know-nothing party =
 Right to Life party =

3 reasons why these parties have faded into history:
- events passed them by
- themes failed to attract voters
- What is the 3rd reason?
3. The economic protest parties
 Rooted in periods of economic discontent.
 Proclaim their disgust with major parties and demand better times.
 Where is their anger focused?

Most often these have been regional parties; drawing their strength from
the agricultural South and West.
8
Unit 3 – Notes
 Greenback Party =
 Populist Party =
 These parties usually disappear when the nation climbed out the
difficult economic period in which the party arose.
4. Splinter parties
 Parties that have split away from one of the major parties.
 Most of the most important minor parties have been splinter ones.
Republican
Democrat

Most splinter parties have formed around a strong personality – most
often someone who has failed to win his party’s presidential nomination.
These minor parties usually fade when the leader steps aside.

Why is the Green Party (1996) so hard to classify?

B. Why Minor Parties are Important
 Even though Americans do not support them, minor parties still have had an
impact on the major parties:
1. A strong 3rd party candidate can play the “spoiler role” EXPLAIN
2. Important in their roles as critic and innovator
 Minor parties take clear-cut stands on controversial issues.
 Minor parties have brought attention to issues that the major parties
preferred to ignore or straddle. (income tax, women’s vote, old-age
pensions)
 How has the innovator role been a source of frustration for minor
parties?
9
Unit 3 – Notes
V.
Party Organization
A. The Decentralized Nature of Parties
 Both parties are highly decentralized, fragmented, disjointed, and often beset by
factions and internal squabbling.
 Local parties are often loosely tied with the State party; State parties the same
with the National party.
1. The Role of the Presidency
 President’ s party is usually more solidly unified and more cohesively
organized than the opposing party.
 The President is automatically the party leader. How does he assert that
leadership? (3 ways)
i.
ii.
iii.
2. The Impact of Federalism
 Because the governmental system in the United States is highly
decentralized (elected offices at many levels), so are the political parties.
3. The Role of the Nominating Process
 The nominating process is also a major cause of party decentralization
and (2) aspects of this process help to explain this:
i. Candidate selection is an intraparty process
ii. What is the process like?
B. National Party Machinery
 The structure of both major parties at the national level has (4) basic elements:
1. The National Convention
 Often described as the party’s national voice, it meets in the summer of
every presidential election year: What does the convention work on?
2. The National Committee
 Between conventions, the national committee and national chairperson
handle the party’s affairs, at least in theory.
 Both parties have expanded the committee’s membership in recent years:
representatives from states, territories, and other groups.
 Do these committees have any power?
10
Unit 3 – Notes
3. The National Chairperson
 Chairperson is the leader of the national committee and is chosen by the
committee for a 4-year term.
 During presidential election year – Chair works on the national
convention and then the campaign.
 What do the chairpersons do between the presidential elections?
4. The Congressional Campaign Committees
 These committees work to reelect incumbents and to make sure that seats
given up by retiring members remain in the party.
 Also work to unseat incumbents in the other party.
C. The Three Components of the Party
 The two major parties can also be examined from a social standpoint – that is, in
terms of the various roles played by their members.
1. The party organization
 Party leaders, activists, and its hangers-on.
2. The party in the electorate
 Who makes up this component?
3. The party in government
 These are the party’s officeholders, those that hold elective and
appointive offices in the executive, judicial, or legislative branches.
D. The Future of the Major Parties
 Political parties have been in a period of decline since the late 1960s.
 The present, weakened state of the parties can be traced to several factors
1. more
independents
2. split-ticket
voting
3. changes and
reform
4. campaign
changes
5. single-issues
organizations
11