Political Parties
Part I
Page 418-434
Enter Question Text
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A.
B.
C.
D.
What is a Political Party?
• Group of like-minded individuals who seek to
elect individual to office under their party
• THE GOAL IS TO WIN OFFICE, NOT JUST
COMPETE FOR IT! (p. 419)
• Can be divided into three general entities
– Governmental party
– Organizational party
– Party in the electorate
The concept of realignment refers to
changes in
A. International alliances
B. Social bases of the
parties’ voting
support
C. Media’s criticism of
the President
D. Spending priorities in
the federal budget
E. The rate of voter
participation
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History of Parties
• Critical election: an election that signals a party
realignment through voter polarization around
new issues.
– 1800: Shift in power from Federalists to DemocraticRepublicans
– 1860: Republican party picks up many northern
Democrats who opposed slaver, Lincoln elected
president
– 1932: Roosevelt coalition
• Banking and oil industries, labor unions, blue collar workers,
minorities, and white Southerners.
Roosevelt Coalition
• 1932-1964
• House and Senate dominated by Democrats in all
but four years
• Coalition
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B.
may exist
Constitution requires
parties be restricted by
both federal and state law
Political party leaders at
the national level must be
elected by party leaders
at the local level
Political party leaders
must be native born
Political parties are not
addressed in the
Constitution
On
ly
A.
Which of the following statements
about political parties and the
Constitution
is
true?
Only two major parties
History of Parties
• Constitution=NOTHING
• George Washington warned the country about
political parties in his farewell speech.
• Alexander Hamilton’s Federalists and Thomas
Jefferson’s Democratic-Republicans
First Party System
• Federalists v. Democratic-Republicans
– John Adams was the only Federalists to win
– Jefferson, Madison, Monroe each win twice
– By 1820, Federalists eventually dissolved, failed to
run a candidate
• Era of Good Feelings
– 1820 and 1824
– Only one competitive party
Second Party System
• 1828-1852
• Democrats vs. Whigs
• Andrew Jackson becomes Democrats leader
– 1828: first mass election with expansion of electorate
• Whigs formed from Jackson’s haters, old
Federalists Party
– Division of Slavery ends the Whig Party
Third Party System
• Democrats and Republicans
• 1860-Present
• Election of 1860
– Republican Party elects Lincoln
– Anti-slavery northern Democrats defect towards
Lincoln and the Republican Party
– Party realignment
• “Golden Age”
– 1874-1912: remarkable stability for the two major
parties
The term “party machine” usually
refers to
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B.
Large national party organization
that is hierarchically structured
Local party organization that
relies heavily on the voluntary
labor of all its members
Local party organization that is
tightly disciplined and well
staffed and relies on patronage
to create party loyalty
Party organization in which
political favors are distributed by
national leaders in repayment
for large contributions
Party organization in which
major platform decisions are
made behind closed doors
rather than at national
convenntions
La
A.
30
Party Machines
• More prominent during the 1800 and early
1900’s
• Patronage: jobs, grants, or special favors that
are given as rewards to friends and political
allies for their support
• Immigrants were given tangible resources
(jobs, food, temporary housing) in exchange
for party support and votes
• Ended with the migration to the suburbs
When people vote for candidates from
one party and other candidates from
another, it is called
Dealignment
Realignment
Republicanism
Ticket splitting
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De
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A.
B.
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D.
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30
Which of the following is a type of
primary election that requires
registration as a party affiliate to vote?
20%
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Closed
General
Open
Plebiscite
Bl
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Are Political Parties in Decline?
• Direct Primaries: the selection of party
candidates through the ballots of qualified voters
rather than at party nomination conventions
• Civil service laws: Appointment on the basis of
merit and competitive exams, removed
patronage from parties
• Issue-oriented politics: Politics focus on issues
rather than parties
– Ticket-split voting: voting for candidates from one
party and other candidates from another party
The persistence of the two-party
system in the United States is best
accounted for by
th
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Pr
op
or
A. 12 Amendment
B. Proportional
representation
C. Mulitmember
legislative districts
D. Single-member
legislative districts
E. Strong party loyalty
of elected
representatives
30
Political Parties Endure
• Tradition, two-party system since 1800
– Single-member legislative districts: election in
which the person with the most votes wins
• Allows for mass participation in a
representative democracy
• Competitive parties/elections are necessary in
a democracy
• Party Polarization: divisive issues tend to
separate people/parties
Functions of Political Parties
• Keep the main goal in mind
– Mobilizing support i.e. coalitions
– Raise funds/support for their candidates’
campaigns
– Nominate Candidates for Office
– Provide a platform of issues for the people
– Provides cues for voters: can use the party to
decide how to vote on issues
– Linkage institution: links all branches of
government
How are political parties organized?
12.2
Basic Structure of Political Parties
• National Function
– Quadrennial National Convention
– Party’s National Chairperson
– Party’s National Committee
• State and Local Functions
– State conventions
– Party activists and volunteers
– Get out the Vote drives
Every four years the parties nominate
a presidential candidate through a
Platform
Convention
Conference
National committee
Filibuster
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Pl
at
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
National Convention
• Every 4 years, summer before presidential
elections
– Nominate presidential and vice-presidential
candidates
– Sets the platform for the party
Think Tanks
• Informal group, unconnected to the party in
an official way
• Policy-oriented researchers who are sources
of policy ideas
• Can helps shape the party platform