POLITICAL PARTIES

A group of persons who seek to control
government through the winning of elections
and holding of public office

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REPUBLICAN
DEMOCRAT
Who was the first
democrat?
 Who was the first
republican?
 Who is the
current Dem. Candidate for pres.?
 Who is the current Rep. Candidate for pres.?

MONEY

To run for office you need money!
 Two
ways:
 Donations
 Personal
account



Anyone can donate to a presidential or political figure’s
election
SUPER PAC
The creation of a group of very rich people that use their
money and their businesses money to get a politician
elected
OBAMA CAMPAIGN COMMERCIAL

OBAMA COMMERCIAL
ROMNEY CAMPAIGN COMMERICAL

Believe in America - YouTube
THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM

Elections are shaped to preserve, protect and
defend the two major parties in America
 This
promotes compromise
 Too many parties = too many radical ideas
 Bipartisan
is when compromise is made between 2
parties. So if you were to act Partisan, you would refuse
to work with someone from another party
TWO-PARTY SYSTEM

Our government was created without political
parties.


The first were the Federalists and the Anti-federalists.
Alexander Hamilton led the Fed.
Then Thomas Jefferson started the Democratic-Republican
party
4 MAJOR ERAS OF POLITICAL PARTIES

Era of the democrats: 1800-1860
 Led
by Jefferson (1800-1808) – The era of Good Feeling
 Then, Andrew Jackson (1829-1837)
 The
Dem. Party started to split up, and eventually the
WHIG party formed (2 presidents William henry Harrison
and Zachary Taylor)
 The Civil War finally split the
Dem. Party up for good.
4 MAJOR ERAS OF POLITICAL PARTIES
Era of the Republicans:
(1860-1932)

Led by Abraham Lincoln
(1860-1865)

Began as a Whig, turned to a Republican
to oppose slavery


Then Theodore Roosevelt
(1900-1908)
Resurged the Republicans and led an
era of progress

The Great depression of
1929 took the wind out of the Rep.

4 MAJOR ERAS OF POLITICAL PARTIES

The Return of the democrats: 1932-1968
 Led

by Franklin Roosevelt (1932-1945)
Took America from the Great Depression to WWII
 Then,

John F. Kennedy (1960-1963)
Brought hope back to America
 Lyndon
Johnson ended the Era by
getting America involved in Vietnam
4 MAJOR ERAS OF POLITICAL PARTIES

Era of Divided Government: 1968-present
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
Rep.
Rep.
Dem.
Rep.
Rep.
Dem.
Rep.
Dem.
A different party nearly every 4 – 8 years.


The use of main stream media: 24 hour news networks, Internet
Americans are picky, blame everything on the president.
MINOR PARTIES
MINOR PARTIES

There are 4 distinct types of minor parties:
1)
Ideological parties: based on a particular set of
beliefs
A comprehensive view of social,
economic and political matters.

Most patterned after MARX


Socialist, Communist
MINOR PARTIES
2.
Single-Issue parties – focus on only one
public-policy matter.

Names usually indicate concern

EX: Free Soil  opposed the spread of slavery
Know Nothings  opposed Irish Catholic immigration
MINOR PARTIES
3.
Economic protest party – have been rooted in
periods of economic discontent


They are disgusted by Major parties (Dem, Rep)
Focus their anger on enemies such as “Wall Street
Bankers”

EX:


The Greenback Party – appealed to struggling farmers
The Populist Party – want public ownership of many big
businesses
MINOR PARTIES
4.
Splinter Parties – Those that have split away
from other parties.


The MOST IMPORTANT of all minor parties!
They usually form around a strong personality (leader)

Examples:


“Bull Moose” (progressive) party – TEDDY ROOSEVELT

Roosevelt was a Rep. president, but switched to the BULL
MOOSE

The party gained the most votes ever for a minor party
candidate in 1912.
Green Party – Ralph Nader

PRO – obama

PRO - Romney