American
Political Parties
© 2008 Teacher’s Brunch
Written by Greg Clevenger
Parties Defined
• Political Party: A group of
people with broad common
interests who organize to
win elections, control
governments and thereby
influence government
policies
3 Political Arenas
• A label or party identification by
which voters can identify with
• an organization that recruits and
campaigns for the candidate
• set of leaders who try to organize and
control the legislative and executive
branches of government
Political Parties
• Groups sharing common
concerns
• Rare in the ancient world
• Attempt to influence policy
Policy: The direction in which
the government takes on
specific issues such as
health care, abortion, or
taxes
Roman Political Parties
• First ancient example
• Patricians for nobility
• Plebeians for wealthy
merchants and middle
class
Political Party History
• Developed in England
in the 1600’s
• Tories were very loyal
to the king
• Whigs preferred more
power to the people
American Revolution
• Tories supported the king
against American
interests
• Whigs were more
understanding and
sympathetic to American
views on independence
Political Parties in America
• Constitution Written in
1787
• American political
parties are born
– Federalists support the
ratification of the
Constitution and the
federal system it creates
– Anti-Federalists push for
its rejection and to keep
the confederation
currently in operation
George Washington on Political Parties
• “They serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial
and extraordinary force; to put in the place of the
delegated will of the nation, the will of a party, often
a small but artful and enterprising minority of the
community.”
Federalist No 10
• Written By James
Madison who was
“Father of the
Constitution”
•
“ By a faction, I understand a
number of citizens, whether
amounting to a majority or a
minority of the whole, who are
united and actuated by some
common impulse of passion, or of
interest, adversed to the rights of
other citizens, or to the permanent
and aggregate interests of the
community”
James Madison
Alexander Hamilton
• Delegate from New York
• Close friend of George
Washington
• Adhered to some
Roman and Tory beliefs
Hamilton Plan
• Elect the first
president for life
• Elect a lifetime senate
patterned after Rome
Hamilton
Federalist Beliefs
• Favored the Constitutional Convention
• Favored a strong central government
• Favored a high protective tariff
• Base of support in New England
and by merchants
• Believed in a broad interpretation
of the constitution which allowed
it to take on national problems
Federalist Beliefs Continued
• Favored high voting qualifications
• Favored the National Bank of the United States as
they believed it was “necessary and proper” use of
the national governments power.
The Opposition
• Led by James Madison and
Thomas Jefferson
• Called “Republicans” by
Jefferson hoping to suggest that
his opponents were secret
monarchists
• Believed the constitution was so
vague the federal government, if
controlled by the federalists,
would have too much because of
the liberal use of the “necessary
and proper” clause
Continued Opposition
• Not at the
Constitutional
Convention
• U.S. minister to France
• Returned home and
opposed Hamilton
• George Mason and
James Madison
George Mason
Jeffersonians
• Jeffersonians
– Supported strict interpretation of the
constitution
– Wanted America to be an agricultural
nation
– Favored a weak central government
– Favored a low protective tariff
• Democrat-Republican Views
– Favored low voting qualifications
(like not needing to own land or have
so much money)
– Favored an alliance with France
– Opposed the Bank of the United
States
Washington’s Cabinet
• Hamilton is Secretary of Treasury
• Jefferson is Secretary of State
• Washington reluctantly stays for
a second term because he does
not believe the country can survive
the infighting between Hamilton
and Jefferson
George Washington, a Federalist
Revolution of 1800
• Jefferson won the Presidency in
1800 and 1804. His predecessors,
Washington and Adams, were both
Federalists in political philosophy.
The United States was moving
towards an Anti-Federalist spirit by
1800 as Anti-Federalists would win
the Presidency from 1800-1820.
• Dies in a duel with Aaron Burr
• Final words: “This place called
America is not for me.”
Aaron Burr
Democrat-Republican Victories
Jefferson: 1800 & 1804
Madison: 1808 & 1812
Monroe:
1816 &1820
Quincy Adams: 1824
Timeline
Anti-Federalists
↓
Republicans
↓
Democratic/Republicans
↓
Democrats
Democrats & Donkeys
• Andrew Jackson was called a
“Jackass” by opponents
• Jackson used the symbol to
represent toughness and
stubbornness
• Donkey used in a political
cartoon on Jackson in 1837
Jacksonian Democracy
• Champion of the
common man
• Involve more people in
government
• Democracy takes on a
new look
Andrew Jackson
Jackson’s Democratic Party
• Distinctive feature of
political participation
becoming widespread and
party machinery immerged
and set the foundations of
modern political parties.
• Democrats were built now
from the bottom up and
caucuses were becoming
abandoned for National
conventions began to be
used instead
•
Whigs
• Believed Jackson
was behaving like
a Monarch
•
Adopted name
from the antimonarch party in
Great Britain
William Henry Harrison
Republican History
• Born in 1850’s
• Ripon, Wisconsin and
Jackson, Michigan both
contend to be birthplace
• The Anti-Slavery Party
• Lincoln is first Republican
President
Elephant Symbol
• Used in political cartoon in 1874
• Illustrated by Thomas Nast, famous American cartoonist who
created “Uncle Sam”
• Nast showed an elephant being chased by a donkey as it related to
political issues.
• The elephant has been associated with the
Republican Party since Grant’s Presidency.
Two-Party System
• Every President has come
from one of the two major
parties
• No 3rd party has won
• Republicans have slight
victory edge
Liberal vs. Conservative
• Dates back to 1789 to France
• Those on the left side of room opposed government
in power
• Those on the right side of room supported
government in power
Liberal vs. Conservative
• Conservative/Republican
– support laissez-faire
economics
– support lower taxation
– support more state control
• Liberal/Democrats
– support higher taxation
– support more central control
– less laissez-faire economics
Party Ideology
• Changes as the people
change
• Have switched their basic
beliefs over time
• Will do what's necessary
to get votes
Democrats
• Supported by minorities
• Younger people
• Blue collar workers
• Poorer people
FDR
Democrats Continued
• Less educated than
Republicans
• Low voter turnout
• Urban dwellers
JFK
Republicans
• Republicans
– Supported by
business
– Older people
– Professional white
collar workers
– Highly educated
– Suburban dwellers
– Rich farmers
– High voter turnout
Abraham Lincoln
Presidential Elections
• Usually very close in
percentages
• Republicans turn out to vote
• Democrats less likely to vote
• Unions are helping change
that
Ronald Reagan
Progressives
• Progressives/mugwumps are reformers who opposed the heavy
emphasis on patronage, disliked the party machinery, and wanted
parties to take unpopular decisions on issues.
• Favored primary elections to replace nominating conventions,
nonpartisan elections, strict voter registration requirements, civil
service reform to eliminate patronage, and used the mass media to
accomplish these goals.
• The effects of their movement limited the power of the party
Independents
• 33% of Americans
• Do not align themselves with a party
• Have never won the Presidency
Why 3rd Parties Lose
• Popular ideas are copied by the big two
• Are not automatically on the ballot like major parties
• Third-party votes are considered a “wasted vote”
• Single-Member Districts
• Difficulty raising $$$
3rd Party History
• Appear on election ballots with “Big Two”
• Must get a certain percentage of signatures to
appear on ballot
Know-Nothing Party
• Founded in 1850’s
• Discriminated against
Catholics and foreigners
• When questioned they
responded, “I know nothing”
Prohibition Party
• Often on the ballot
• Believe in banning all alcohol
• Often called the Women’s Christian Temperance
Union
American Communist Party
• Appears on some state ballots
• Headquarters in New York City
• Americans can vote Communist!
Election of 1948
• Strom Thurmond runs as a
Dixiecrat
• Wins numerous southern
states
• Solid south favored states’
rights
• Truman wins election
Strom Thurmond
Other 3rd Party Candidates
• 1948
Strom Thurmond Dixiecrats
• 1968
George Wallace
States’ Rights
• 1980
John Anderson
Independent
• 1992
Ross Perot
Reform Party
• 2000
Ralph Nader
Green Party
George Wallace
Ralph Nader
• Consumer advocate running for President
• Wrote Unsafe at Any Speed
• Challenges corporate America and Big Government
• Wants citizens to have an
alternative
Gore’s Response
• 2000 Election
• Split Florida vote
• “Ralph Nader cost me the
Presidency.”
Al Gore
Nader in 2008
• Announce candidacy again
• Not expected to play a
serious role
• Oldest “major” candidate in
U.S. history
Ralph Nader
Nominating Conventions
• Held every four years
• Adopt a party platform
• Select a President and
Vice President
candidate
• First held in Jackson’s
days
Conventions
• Many parties hold them
• Showcase party luminaries and future stars
Primaries
• Primaries
– Smaller elections in states
– Started during the Progressive
Era
– Championed by President
Theodore Roosevelt
– Gets more people involved
• Primaries Today
– More popular than ever
– Very expensive
Theodore Roosevelt
“If I could not go to Heaven but with a party,
I would not go there at all.”
~Thomas Jefferson