Sample Summary of Readings as Required in AP Gov’t
Your Name
Mrs. Lynde
AP Government – Class Pd.
07 September 2008
Need MLA Citation Here
Article #25 Summary
Title: Toward a More Responsible Two-Party System
Author: Report of the Committee of Political Parties, American Political Science Association
Main Idea: Political parties are a way for Americans to influence the course of public affairs.
Political parties should be stronger, and the weak party system today is a major deficiency and
barrier to effective democratic leadership.
Summary:
Popular government in a nation of more than 150 million people requires political
parties which provide the electorate with a proper range of choice b/w alternative
actions party system is the main device for bringing into continuing relationship those
ideas about liberty, majority rule, and leadership which Americans have taken for
granted
Party politics inevitably involves public policy in one way or another and in order to
keep the parties apart, one must consider the relations b/w each and public policy
The choices provided by the 2 party system are valuable to American people in
proportion to their definition in terms of public policy
One of the most pressing requirements of contemporary politics is for the party in
power to furnish a general kind of direction over the gov’t as a whole
Modern public policy accentuates the importance of parties
Modern public policy requires a broad political base b/c it affects many people and
it depends for its execution on public support this base can only be provided by the
parties which reach people touched by no other political organization
Party system that is needed must be democratic, responsible, and effective
accountable to the public, respects and expresses differences of opinion, and is able to
cope with the great problems of modern gov’t
Effective party system requires that the parties are able to bring forth programs to
which they can commit themselves and that parties possess sufficient internal cohesion
to carry out these programs
Fundamental requirement of accountability is the 2 party system in which the
opposition party acts as the critic of the party in power, developing, defining, and
presenting the policy alternatives which are necessary for a true choice in reaching
public decisions
Inaction in the face of needed change increases dangers which may be present:
o Inadequacy of party system in sustaining well-considered programs and
providing broad public support for them may lead to grave consequences;
o The American people may go too far for the safety of constitutional gov’t in
compensating for the inadequacy by shifting excessive responsibility to the
President;
o w/ growing public cynicism and continuing proof of the ineffectiveness of the
party system the nation may eventually witness the disintegration of the 2
major parties;
o the incapacity of the 2 parties for consistent action based on meaningful
programs may rally support for extremist political parties poles apart
no other republic that has entrusted to its President as much constitutional
responsibility as Americans have entrusted to the President of U.S. (central figure in
leadership of his party ) the only politically responsible organ of gov’t that has the whole
nation as a constituency
American political institutions are too firmly grounded in the two party system to
make its collapse a small matter
3 Important Facts:
1. Reasons for the growing emphasis on public policy in party politics can be found in the
operation of modern gov’t
2. The most valuable opportunity to influence the course of public affairs is the choice people
are able to make between the parties in the principle election
3. Parties are indispensable instruments of gov’t
Bias/Faulty Reasoning: The ASPA did not look at the effects of political parties that are too
strong. Tyranny can result from a party that is too strong, turning the gov’t into a dictatorship.
ASPA only sees political parties as indispensable instrument of gov’t, not considering the days
before political parties truly developed. ASPA did not consider the evils of parties and factions as
Madison and the Framers had.
New Terms/Concepts:
1. Aspirants
2. Demagoguery
3. ….
Needs ALL terms you do NOT know! They all need to be defined. NO ONE should have blanks in
this spot!