Political spectrum, Political
Parties and the electoral college
Left v Right
• Idea comes from the French Revolution
• Those that wanted to maintain the monarchy
sat on the right side of the room
• Those that wanted to abolish the monarchy
sat on the left side.
Terms to know
• Political party- a group of people who seek to
control government through the winning of
elections and holding of public office
• Two party system- a political system
dominated by two major political parties
• (there’s another slide of terms)
More terms (last one)
• Multi-party system- a system where many
parties exist and seriously compete for public
offices
• Electorate- people entitled to vote in an
election
• Popular vote- the vote of the people
• Electoral vote- votes cast by electors in the
electoral college
Role of political parties
• To inform people about party beliefs and
platform
• To keep people in line within their beliefs
“watchdog”
• To nominate leaders
• To stimulate discussion
The Two Party System
• Democrats
• Republicans
• Does anyone else really have a shot of
winning?
• That’s a two party system. When only two
parties have a realistic chance of winning.
3rd Parties in American History
• Whig Party- arose from the authoritarian polices of Andrew Jackson. Died
soon after its creators Henry Clay and Daniel Webster died.
• Socialist party (various forms)- ran Eugene Debs for President 5 times,
once from prison. Opposed to war and free market capitalism. Still
around)
• Bull moose- Created by Teddy Roosevelt to run for a third term. (defunct)
• Reform- The creation of businessmen and rightwing activists such as Ross
Perot and Pat Buchanan. Still around
• Green Party- ran Ralph Nader for President until this 2008, when Cynthia
McKinney defeated him at the convention. Focus on anti-war and pro
environmental issues.
• Libertarian party- since 1971 a collection of varying political views ranging
from the far left to the far right. Stresses outlaw of “victimless crimes” and
useless taxes.
• Constitution Party- A conservative Party plans to run several candidates in
the 2010 midterm elections
Results of recent American Elections
1960-2004
Winner
Defeated Candidate
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1960- JFK
1964 – Lyndon Johnson
1968- Richard Nixon
1972 – Richard Nixon
1976- Jimmy Carter
1980- Ronald Reagan
1984 –Ronald Reagan
1988 – George HW Bush
1992- Bill Clinton
1996 -Bill Clinton
2000 – George W. Bush
2004 –George W. Bush
1960- Richard Nixon
1964 –Barry Goldwater
1968 –Hubert Humphrey
1972 – George McGovern
1976 – Pres. Gerald Ford
1980 – Pres. Jimmy Carter
1984-Walter Mondale
1988 –Michael Dukakis
1992- Pres. George HW Bush
1996- Bob Dole
2000- Al Gore
2004 - John Kerry
How is the President picked?
• A person decides to run for president.
• They are nominated by their party after a long
primary process (Think elimination round here)
• On election day (First Tuesday, after the first
Monday in November) the people vote
• A set of Presidential electors looks at the popular
vote and awards that state’s electoral votes to the
candidate who has the most votes
2000 Popular vote totals
Gore
• 51,003,894
Bush
• 50,459,211
Why do we have the electoral college?
• In the beginning of our country most people
worked on farms far away from town.
• People could not leave to vote
• People could not be trusted to know how to
read
• know what the issues were. Be an “informed
electorate”