Chapter 5
Political Parties
Section 1—Parties and
What They Do
• Objectives:
– Define a Political Party
– Describe the major functions of political
parties
Section 1—Parties and
What They Do
• Why It Matters:
– Political parties are essential to
democratic government. In the United
States, political parties have shaped the
way the government works. Today, the
major political parties perform several
important functions without which our
government could not function.
Section 1—Parties and
What They Do
• Political Dictionary:
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Political party
Major parties
Partisanship
Party in power
Section 1—Parties and
What They Do
• What is a political party?
– Some are “issue” or “principle” oriented
– Some are oriented toward winning elections.
• What Do Parties Do?
– They are the medium for presenting opinions to
the people.
– They are a link between the governed and
those who govern.
– They work to blunt conflicts—Power Brokers
Section 1—Parties and
What They Do
• What Do Parties Do? (cont.)
– Nominating Candidates (recruiting and
choosing)
– Informing and Activating Supporters
– The Bonding Agent Function (screening)
– Governing—”partisanship”
– Acting as Watchdog
• “ins and “outs”
• Loyal Opposition
Section 2—The TwoParty System
Section 2—The TwoParty System
• Objectives:
– Identify the reasons why the United
States has a two-party system.
– Understand multiparty and one-party
systems and how they affect the
functioning of government.
– Describe party membership patterns in
the United States.
Section 2—The TwoParty System
• Why It Matters:
– The two-party system in the United
States is a product of historical forces,
our electoral system, and the ideological
consensus of the American people. It
provides more political stability than a
multiparty system and more choice than
a one-party system.
Section 2—The TwoParty System
• Political Dictionary:
– Minor party
– Two-party system
– Single-member
district
– Plurality
– Bipartisanship
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Pluralistic society
Consensus
Multiparty
Coalition
One-party system
Section 2—The TwoParty System
• Earl Dodge: six time presidential
candidate
• Why a Two-Party System?
– Regional one-party presence at times
– The Historical Basis
• Federalists and anti-federalists
• Hamilton vs. Jefferson
• Washington: warned against “the baneful
effects of the spirit of party.”
Section 2—The TwoParty System
• Why a Two-Party System? (cont.)
– The Force of Tradition
• Long acceptance “that is just the way it is.”
– The Electoral System
• Single-member districts
• Plurality—largest number of votes cast
• Bipartisan nature discourages minor parties
– Non-major party candidates in only 7 elections
Section 2—The TwoParty System
• Why a Two-Party System (cont.)
– The American Ideological Consensus
• Pluralistic Society—many cultures and
groups
• Consensus—on most fundamental matters
• Middle-of-the-road tendency
Section 2—The TwoParty System
• Multiparty Systems
– Many European nations
– Must build coalitions
• One-Party Systems
– Really no-party
– 1/3 of the States are mostly one-party
Section 2—The TwoParty System
• Party Membership Patterns
– Cross section
– Democrats—African Americans,
Catholics, Jews, Union members, etc.
– Republicans—white males, Protestants,
business community, etc.
– Disrupting events can change patterns:
• Civil War
• Great Depression
Section 3—The Two-Party
System in American History
• Objectives:
– Understand the origins of political
parties in the United States.
– Identify and describe the three major
periods of single-party domination and
describe the current era of divided
government.
Section 3—The Two-Party
System in American History
• Why It Matters:
– The origins and history of political
parties in the United States help
explain how the two major parties work
today and how the affect American
government.
Section—The Two-Party
System in American History
• Political Dictionary:
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Incumbent
Faction
Electorate
Sectionalism
Section 3—The Two-Party
System in American History
• The Nation’s First Parties
– Federalist—Alexander Hamilton
– Anti-Federalists under Thomas
Jefferson. Became Jeffersonian
Republicans; later Democratic
Republicans; and then Democrats.
– Jefferson defeated the incumbent
Adams in 1800.
Section 3—The Two-Party
System in American History
• American Parties: Four Major Eras
– The Era of the Democrats, 1800-1860
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Federalists disappear by 1816
Era of Good Feelings
Split into factions
National Republican party (Whigs) emerges
Whigs fall apart
Democrats split into North and South
1856 the Republicans emerge from previous Whigs
and some Democrats.
Section 3—The Two-Party
System in American History
• American Parties: Four Major Eras
– The Era of the Republicans, 1860-1932
• Democrats held the “Solid South.”
• McKinley’s victory in 1896 solidified party
• Only interruptions were Cleveland and
Wilson
Section 3—The Two-Party
System in American History
• American Parties: Four Major Eras
– The Return of the Democrats, 19321968
• Great Depression/Roosevelt
• Social Welfare programs/New Deal
– The Start of a New Era, 1968-2005
• Divided government
Section 4—The Minor
Parties
• Minor Parties in the United States
– Ideological Parties
• Socialist, Socialist Labor, Socialist Worker, and
Communist.
• Libertarian
– Single Issue Parties
• Free Soil—opposed slavery
• American or Know Nothing Party—opposed Irish
immigration.
• Right to Life Party—opposes abortion
Section 4—The Minor
Parties
• Minor Parties in the United States
– Economic Protest Parties
• Greenback Party
• Populist Party of the 1890s
– Splinter Parties
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Bull Moose Party of 1912
LaFollette’s Progressive Party
States’ Rights (Dixiecrats)
American Independent Party of George Wallace
Green Party with Ralph Nader
Section 4—The Minor
Parties
• Why Minor Parties Are Important
– Anti Masonic Party had first convention
in 1831.
– Spoiler role of Teddy Roosevelt, Ralph
Nader and Ross Perot
– They highlight important issues
• Income tax, women’s rights, voting
Section 5—Party
Organization
• Objectives:
– Understand why the major parties have a
decentralized structure.
– Describe the national party machinery and how
parties are organized at the State and local
levels.
– Identify the three components of the parties.
– Examine the future of the major parties.
Section 5—Party
Organization
• Why It Matters:
– The major parties of the United States
have a decentralized structure, and the
different parts and elements work
together primarily during national
elections. The parties themselves have
been in decline, or losing influence, since
the 1960s.
Section 5—Party
Organization
• Political Dictionary:
– Ward
– Precinct
– Split-ticket voting
Section 5—Party
Organization
• The Decentralized Nature of the
Parties.
– The Role of the Presidency
– The Impact of Federalism
• Over 500,000 elective offices in America
– The Role of the Nominating Process
Section 5—Party
Organization
• National Party Machinery
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The National Convention
The National Committee
The National Chairperson
The Congressional Campaign Committees
Section 5—Party
Organization
• State and Local Party Machinery
– The State Organization
– Local Organization
• Wards
• Precinct
Section 5—Party
Organization
• The Three Components of the Party
– The party organization-leaders,
activists, contributors, hanger’s on
– The party in the electorate-loyal voters
– The party in government-officeholders
Section 5—Party
Organization
• The Future of the Major Parties
– Decline in party “identification.”
– Increase in split-ticket voting
– Open reforms have led to internal
conflict and disorganization.
– Changes in technology
– Growth of single-issue organizations