Where did these Political
Symbols come from???
Political Symbols - Donkey
•Presidential candidate
Andrew Jackson was 1st
Democrat to be associated
with the donkey symbol.
•His opponents during the 1828 election
tried to label him a “jackass” for his
Populist beliefs “Let the people rule”
•Andrew Jackson found it amusing and used
the donkey on his campaign posters!
•Political Cartoonist Thomas
Nast is credited with making
the donkey the recognized
symbol of the
Democratic Party
Political Symbols - Elephant
•Thomas Nast is also
responsible for the
Republican Party symbol
•Nast drew a donkey clothed in lion’s skin,
scaring away all of the animals in a zoo
•One of the animals was labeled
“The Republican Vote” and it stuck.
Political Symbols - Ballot
Box
•Practice of secret voting
•Dates back to Ancient
Greeks
–used black and white balls
–white - yes, black - no
–placed into a bag so no
one would know your vote
•US political parties during the early 19th
Century would print and distributed ballots
to voters
–Not secret, politicians knew how you voted
•Reformed: government printed all ballots
and supervised elections
so politicians could not
watch people vote.
Political Symbols - Uncle Sam
•Cartoon representing the
government of the US
•Character began to appear in
newspapers and magazines
around the 19th century
Over the years, he has evolved
into a tall, white-haired man
with a beard, dressed in
red, white and blue
•Uncle Sam was modeled after Samuel Wilson,
a meat supplier
•The US government bought their meat
from Sam during the War of 1812
•Stamped his meat US and
became known as
“Uncle Sam”
What Is A Political Party?
A
group seeking to control
government by winning elections
and holding public office
Can
be principle, issue, or election
oriented
The Two Main Parties in the
U.S. Are . . .
DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
What Do Parties Do?
Provide
options to the people
Link between government
and the people
Bring conflicting groups
together
The Nominating Function
Select
Candidates for public
office
exclusive job for the parties
sets them apart from all of the
other groups in politics
The Informer-Stimulator Function
Inform
people
activate interest in public affairs
campaign, define issues, criticize
other candidates
 the end goal of winning votes
The “Seal of Approval” Function
Bonding Agent
choose
candidates
 qualified, good character
The Governmental Function
 legislative
and executive work
together
 Appointments made to executive
branch are according to party
allegiance:
partisanship
The Watchdog Function
 The
party out of power criticizes
party in power
 To convince the voters to vote for
them in the next election
Why A Two-Party System?
Historical Basis
 Debate
over the Constitution’s ratification
created the first political parties
 Federalists & Anti-Federalists
 Washington very critical of political
parties
– Warned Americans in his Farewell Address
“baneful effects of political parties”
early
leaders mistrusted political
parties
James Madison: political parties =
special interests
– Changed his mind
– provided a way for like-minded
people to promote their visions
After
Constitution: political parties
not actively involved in politics
– rivalry between Jefferson and
Hamilton (1804)
– Hamilton - Founder of Federalist
Party, manufacturing, elite
– Jefferson - Founder Dem.Rep.,
farmers, workers
Election
of 1800 (Jefferson & Burr)
– Electors voted along party lines,
casting two votes
– Election resulted in a tie
– House of Representatives selected
after 36 ballots, Jefferson
– 12th Amendment

Pres and VP run together on one ticket
The Force of Tradition
always
existed, self-perpetuating
Reluctant
to support minor parties
– they made little headway.
– Wasted vote?
The Electoral System
Single-member
districts
(winner take all)
– “wasting” votes on minor
parties
Election
written to discourage
minority parties
Who writes the laws?
American Ideological
Consensus
Americans tend to
agree on fundamental
issues
Major political parties take
moderate stands-as do most
Americans
– built on compromise
Why Don’t Other Systems Work?
Multiparty Systems
Each party represents very
different interests
Creates an unstable government
American institutional and
ideological ideas make a
multiparty system unlikely
Multi-party
systems
– separate themselves from each other
– secure the loyalty of voters who have
a particular viewpoint - special
interest
– Enables smaller parties to compete
acquires
legislative seats in
proportion to its share of the total
vote. (no winner-takes-all)
Difference between Multiparty and Two-Party Systems
 Two-party:
parties tend to have
overlapping coalitions and programs
– Each party must appeal to the
moderate voter - majority
– Winner takes all - seats are not
distributed proportionally
– Single member district: only one
candidate is elected per district
One-Party Systems
“No-Party”
System
Nearly all
dictatorships
have one-party
systems
How Do We Choose A Party?
 Membership
- voluntary and generally
composed of a mixture of the population
 Segments
of the population tend to
support one party or the other (for a
period of time)
– Example: Unions favored Democrats
Business favored by Republicans
Reasons For Choosing a Party
 Family
- 2 out of 3 Americans follow
party allegiance of parents
 Major Events – war, depression
 Economic Status
 Place of Residence
 Level of Education
 Work Environment
The Two-Party System in
American History
The Era of One-Party Domination
 The
Era of the Democrats, 1800–1860
 The Era of the Republicans, 1860–1932
 The Return of the Democrats, 1932–1968
 The Start of a New Era - why 1968?
– Since 1968 the Republicans dominated
the White House, while Democrats
controlled Congress
http://www.270towin.com
/
Minority Parties in the US
Ideological Parties
 Based
on a specific set of beliefs,
including a comprehensive view of
social, economic, and political matters
 Example:
 Receive
Libertarian Party
little votes, but are long-lived
Single-Issue Parties
 Concentrate
on a single public policy
matter
 Examples: Know Nothings,
Right-to-Life
 Faded into history as issues disappear
Economic Protest Parties
 Focus
on economic discontent
 Example: Greenback and Populist
Parties
 TEA: Taxed Enough
Already
Splinter Parties
 Groups
that break off from one of
the two major parties
 Examples: “Bull Moose” Party
and “Dixiecrats” “Green Party”
The Key Role of Minority Parties
 Introduced
useful ideas in American
Politics
 Can play a “spoiler role” in an election
when the two major candidates are
evenly matched.
 Most important is their roles as critics
and reformers
Barriers to Minor Parties
Constitution: no mention of Political
Parties
2. Winner-takes-all elections
3. Petition in all 50 states plus DC to
get on ballots
1.
- PA need 67,000 signatures
4.
Rules regarding campaign fund
raising - advantages to incumbent
The Organization
of Political Parties
Reality of Political Parties
 Two
major parties are highly
decentralized (internal fighting)
 No real chain of command
– States parties loosely tied to national
– Local parties independent of states
The Role of the President
 The
President’s party is usually more
solidly united than the opposing
 The President is the party leader
 The other party has no comparable
leader - party out of power
http://www.schooltube.com/vi
deo/c922493421eee4c27961/
National Party Machinery
Four Elements
1. National Convention
– Meet to nominate the presidential and
vice presidential candidate every 4 years,
create party platform
2. National Committee
– Handles the party’s affairs between
conventions
National Party Machinery
Four Elements
3. National Chairperson
– Heads up the national committee
4. Congressional Campaign
Committees
– Job to increase party’s
congressional seats
State and Local Party Machinery

State – job is to further the party’s
interests in that state
–follow the State’s electoral
map, most active a few months before
an election
 Local
Three Elements of the Party
 Party
Organization
– leaders, activists, and hangers-on who
control party machinery
 Party in the electorate
– loyalists who vote their candidates
 Party in government
– officeholders at all levels of government
The Future of the Majority Parties
 Political
Parties have been in a state of
decline since the late 1960s
 Parties are unlikely to disappear as
long as they continue to perform
necessary functions
Reasons for Decline
• Larger number of voters registering as
independent
• SPLIT-TICKET VOTING –
voting for candidates of both
parties for offices at the same
election.
Reasons (cont)
• Greater internal conflict
• Changes in technology of
campaigning.
• Growth of single-issue
organizations who side with a
candidate on a specific issue.
Questions

1. What type of political party formed as
the result of separating from one of the
major parties?
 2. What type of party grows during periods
of economic discontent?
 3. Name a key role minor parties play.
 4. The “know nothings” are an example of
what type of minor party.
 5. What type of minor party usually forms
around a strong personality?

6. In general, how are the the organization of
the two major parties in the United States
characterized?
 7. When Mitt Romney lost the presidential
election, why didn’t he become the leader of
the Republican Party?
 8. What is meant by the party platform?
 9. What is split-ticket voting?
 10. Why do some political analysts believe
that the party system may collapse?

11. Tom Corbet is currently the Republican
Governor of PA. John Boehner is one of
the most powerful Republicans in Congress.
Which of the three components of the
political party is this an example?