Chapter 14
Political Parties
Section 1
Development of Parties
Essential Questions
- What is a multiparty system and how does it affect governing?
-
Why have third parties played only a minor role in American politics?
What is a multiparty system and how does it affect governing?
A political party is group of people with broad common interests who organize to win elections,
control government, and influence government policies. There are different levels of party systems in
the world. Some countries have only 1 party. Others have 2. Still others have 6 or 7. In a one-party
system the party, in effect, is the government. The decisions of party leaders set government policy.
Typically in a one-party system, political differences arise only within the party itself because the
government tolerates no other opposition.
You may have guessed that one-party systems are usually found in nations with authoritarian
governments. This makes sense when you think about it. How many democratic nations can simply
ignore (or violently suppress) other opinions? We think of a one-party system as a communist’s
government. Many are with examples in Cuba, Vietnam, North Korea, and China. These parties often
come into power by force. Other one-party systems exist that are non-communists. Iran has a single
party but their state is a theocracy. A theocracy is where religious leaders control the government.
In nations that allow more than one political party, the most common political system today is
the multiparty system. Germany has 5 parties and Italy has about 7 distinct political parties. In
countries with this system voters have a wide range of choices on election days. The parties in a
multiparty system often represent widely different ideologies, or basic beliefs about government. In a
multiparty system, one party rarely gets enough support to control the government on its own. So
instead of trying to gain over half of the representatives, often parties will form coalitions. A coalition
government occurs when parties combine forces to obtain a majority. The coalition system has worked
in some countries but many countries with multiparty systems are politically unstable. That hasn’t
stopped some form saying that the US should try the multiparty system. Read the link and you will see
that Germany’s system is fairly confusing. The citizens of Germany cast 2 votes in elections, 1 for a
person and 1 for a party. Their system developed out of necessity after World War II which, obviously,
took a toll on the German political system.
The final party system we will discuss is the two-party system. This is the system we have in the
US with Republicans and Democrats serving as our 2 main parties. The United Kingdom has a 2 party
system as well but third parties (we’ll talk about those shortly) have had more success across the
Atlantic. America’s two-party system grew out of the early days of the nation. Many of the founding
fathers were opposed to political parties and distrusted factions. George Washington spoke out against
political parties in his farewell address in 1796. Washington argued that parties would get in the way of
reasonable discourse in government and simply do things because the other party wouldn’t like it. Funny
how smart these guys were. If often seems like our system lends itself to excessive bickering rather than
actual work.
Even with Washington’s objections, by the end of his 2nd, and final, term 2 political parties had
organized in opposition to one another. Have you ever wondered where Republicans and Democrats
came from? Well let’s walk down that path. We’ve already talked about the Federalists and Antifederalists that popped up during the Constitutional Convention. The Federalists got their way and the
Anti-federalists became the Democratic-Republicans (you may be able to see where this is going).
Federalists were all about strong central government and the Democratic-Republicans believed in less
government.
John Adams, a federalist, was elected as the 2nd president but during his time in office the
Federalist’s power quickly declined. Thomas Jefferson won the presidency in the next 2 elections
running as a Democratic-Republican. The Democratic-Republicans controlled US politics into the 1820s
when the group began to fracture. Conflicts over banking, tariffs, and slavery shattered the party and
2 groups grew out of wreckage- Democrats and National Republicans (Whigs). By the 1850s the
debate over slavery led to further divisions within both parties. The Democrats split into northern and
southern factions. Many Whigs joined a new party that opposed the spread of slavery- the Republicans.
So before the Civil War you had 2 major parties. Democrats, whose power was centered in the
South, and Republicans, whose power held in the North. After the Civil War, Republicans dominated
American politics as Democrats held the presidency for only 4 terms between 1860 and 1932. In the
1932 election, the Democratic Party won the White House and assumed control of Congress. For most
of the next 60 years, Democrats were the majority party. Republicans gained more power in the
presidency but rarely held both houses of Congress from 1968 into the 2000s. This all goes to show that
power fluctuates. You may also notice that many Southern states swing Republican now. This is a
relatively new phenomenon.
Why have third parties played only a minor role in American politics?
Democrats and Republicans have dominated the US political system since before the Civil War
but third parties always been a part of American politics. A third party is any party other than the 2
major parties. In a given election there could be 20 parties running against the major parties but they
will all be called third parties. Third parties come in all shapes and sizes and there are a ton of them.
They all have 1 key thing in common: they believe that neither major party is meeting certain needs.
There are 3 main categories that third parties fall in to. A single-issue party focuses exclusively
on one major social, economic, or moral issue. A single-issue party is generally short-lived. Typically it
will fade away as an issue becomes less important or one or both major parties could adopt the issue
and bring to the national stage. An ideological party focuses on overall change in society rather than 1
issue. Ideological parties would be groups like the Socialists Labor Party or the Communist Party USA.
The final type of third party is the splinter party. A splinter party splits away from one of the major
parties because of some disagreement. The most notable example occurred in 1912 when Teddy
Roosevelt led a group out of the Republican Party to form the Progressive, or Bull Moose, Party.
Minor parties have influenced the outcome of several elections. Roosevelt’s Bull Moose Party
took enough votes away from William Howard Taft to get Democratic candidate Woodrow Wilson into
the White House. Some say Ross Perot took votes away from George H. W. Bush and gave Bill Clinton
the presidency. Third parties’ biggest impacts have come through the support of new issues. Third
parties were the first to champion minimum wage, unemployment insurance, and health insurance.
Those issues were then taken up by major parties and are now a part of everyday American life.
Minor parties face difficulties in trying to get elected and often cannot get on the ballot in all 50
states. The names of the Republican and Democratic candidate are automatically on the ballot.
Regionalism plays a role in the struggle of third parties as well. In the past, third parties have appealed
mainly to voters in certain regions of the country or to certain groups in society. Few third parties have
been able to demonstrate an ability to generate momentum across the nation. The final problem we
will discuss is an obvious one. Financing third party campaigns is very difficult. Political campaigns
require a lot of money and Americans are not likely to throw financial support behind a candidate that
has little chance of winning.
Section 2
Functions of Parties
Essential Questions
- What are political parties’ main functions?
What are political parties’ main functions?
The Constitution does not provide for political parties or even mention them, yet political
parties have become an essential part of the American democratic system. Through elections people
select the officials who will govern them. As a part of this process, political parties perform several
important functions. No other body or institution in American government performs these tasks.
First, political parties recruit candidates. They seek men and women who seem to have a good
chance of being elected. It is often said that political parties are election-oriented rather than issueoriented. This means that it’s more about the candidates themselves rather than what the candidates
actually say. That’s why it’s important to “look presidential” in debates and speeches before elections.
Third parties tend to be more issue oriented but that alone doesn’t convince people to vote for you. Fact
is people care little about the issues and more about the appearance of candidates. This is what sells
and the major parties know this. They don’t pick the candidate who says the right thing. They pick the
candidate that looks like he/she might win.
Each party works to educate the public on issues. While elections candidate-oriented, public
opinion is shaped by the party’s response to issues. Each party publishes its position on important
issues such as inflation, military spending, taxes, pollution, energy, and the environment. Candidates
then present these views to show party unity. They make presentations in pamphlets, press
conferences, speeches, television, radio, and newspaper advertisements. Sometimes major party
candidates feel safer attacking their opponent’s views that stating their own. This is a commonly used
tactic which sometimes causes important issues to be lost in a sea of personal attacks. Speaking frankly,
I’m not sure how important attack ads really are. They obviously work because candidates and parties
wouldn’t spend the money on them if they didn’t. However, when the rubber meets the road, many
people vote for the candidate from the party they like. The issues mean very little.
Political parties also play a key role in running and staffing the government. Congress and
state legislatures are organized and carry on their work on the basis of party affiliation. Remember,
parties determine who sits on committees and committees are where the work is done in government.
Party leaders in the legislatures make every effort to see that their members support the party’s
position when considering legislation.
Political parties dispense patronage which is an important part of government. Patronage, or
favors given to reward party loyalty, often includes jobs, contracts, and appointments to government
positions. Loyal party members can be placed in government jobs or given lucrative contracts as a
reward for faithful service. This is the classic “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” proposition. It
can be considered corruption in some cases and recent laws have taken steps to limit patronage over
the years. But it still happens.
The party out of power in the legislative or executive branch assumes the role of “watchdog”
over government. It observes the party in power, criticizes it, and offers solutions to political problems.
If the opposition party does this successfully, public opinion many swing in its favor and return it to
power in a future election. Concern about this makes the party in power more sensitive to the will of
the people. In this way party’s consistently serve as a “loyal opposition” to each other. They hold the
other party responsible for decisions that are made.