Unit 7:
Political Parties and
Political Behavior
Parties, Voters, and Political Trends
Political Ideologies
My political views are affected by:
Factors of Political Socialization:
•
Family
•
Media
•
Friends
•
Education
•
Religion
•
Race
•
Gender
•
Age
•
Geography
Ideological Spectrum
Left
Liberal
Conservative
Believes that
government must take
action to change
economic, political,
and ideological policies
thought to be unfair
Seeks to keep in
place the
economic,
political, and
social structures
of society
Center
Moderate
Radical
Favors extreme
change to create
an altered or
entirely new
social system
Holds beliefs that
fall between
liberal and
conservative
views, usually
including some of
both
Right
Reactionary
Favors extreme
change to restore
society to an
earlier, more
conservative
state
 “If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no
heart, if you're not a conservative at forty
you have no brain.”
-Winston Churchill
 What do you think he meant by this?
What is a Political Party?
 Definition:
 A group of people who seek to control the government through
winning elections
 There is NO Constitutional basis for their creation or their structure
 Examples:
 The Big Two -
 Republican (Conservative)
 Democrat (Liberal)
 ‘Major’ Third Parties -
 Constitution, Green, Libertarian
What do Political Parties do?
1. Nominate – or name candidates for public office
2. Inform – the people and stimulate their interests and participation
in public affairs
3. Approve – its candidate(s) to ensure the good performance of its
people by seeing that they are qualified and of good character
 Buttons, bumper stickers, ads, speeches, rallies, conventions—the
media also partially performs this function on behalf of the parties
4. Govern – or conduct the business of government
5. Act as Watchdogs – over the conduct of the government,
particularly criticizing the party in power
The Two-Party System
 Definition – a system where only two
parties have a reasonable chance of
winning public office
 Democrats and Republicans
Why a Two-Party System?
 Historical: Parties grew out of first political factions –
Federalist v. Anti-Federalists
 Tradition: most Americans accept the idea of a two-party
system because there has always been one
 Electoral System: our method of electing the President is a
winner-takes-all system, so people think they are ‘wasting’
their vote by voting for a 3rd party candidate
 American Ideological Consensus: Americans in general
have shared ideals, principles, and patterns of belief
 Agree? Are people becoming ‘sheeple’?
Other Systems
 Multi-Party - Several major parties and many lesser parties exist
 Positives: may better represent needs and concerns of people
 Some people say that Republicans and Democrats aren’t that
different (Demi-cans and Republi-crats)
 Negatives: tend to lead to instability, difficult to win the support
of a majority
 A big problem in a Democracy – Popular Sovereignty?
 One-Party – really means ‘no-party’
 Positives: ??? Are there any?
 Negatives: too many to list…
Minor Parties


Definition:

There are numerous, less politically reliable parties in the US
other than the D’s and R’s.
4 types of minor parties:
1.

Ideological: based on a particular set of beliefs (Ex: Libertarian –
emphasizes individualism)
2. Single-Issue: those concentrating on a single public policy
matter (Ex: Right to Life Party opposes abortion)
3. Economic Protest: those rooted in periods of economic
discontent
4. Splinter: those that have split away from one of the major
parties (from R: Bull Moose; from D: Progressive, American
Independent Party; Tea Party)
Although they have no real chance of winning they are still
important

Spoiler – ‘steal’ votes from a major party candidate
Key Terms
 Partisanship – Strong devotion or faithfulness to a
party, their beliefs, and/or candidates
 Bi-Partisanship – The two major parties work
together on an issue
 Despite their differences the two major parties
share an ideological consensus, that is they share a
general agreement on fundamental issues
 Platform – A party’s formal statement of basic
principles, stands on major issues, and goals
 Independents – People with no party affiliation
Party Membership Patterns
(Remember: These are TENDENCIES…there are many that do NOT follow
the following criteria)
DEMOCRAT
REPUBLICAN
Income/
Occupation
Lower income / Lower
Status in Occupation &
union workers
Wealthy / Higher Status
Occupations &
members of the
business community
Education
Less education
More Education
Gender/age
Women / 18-30 year olds
Men / 55 years+
Religion
Jews and Catholics
Protestants
Ethnicity
Black
White
Geography
Northeast and far West;
urban
Midwest & increasingly
the South; rural
 In his farewell address, George Washington called
political parties “destructive” and said they replace
the “delegated will of the country”.
 He went on to say that although they may now and
then serve some good, they will eventually become
“potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and
unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power
of the people, and to usurp for themselves the reins of
government”.
1. What was Washington’s opinion of political parties?
2. Are political parties damaging to the principle of
popular sovereignty?
Voter Behavior
Voting Rights History in the US
History of Voting in America
 Before Constitution
 Women – in some colonies
 Free Blacks – in some colonies
 Slaves – Nope
 After Constitution
 Women, Free Blacks, and Slaves were
initially denied the right or the States
decided
Voting…how we got to where we are today
 13th Amendment (1865)– outlawed slavery
 14th Amendment (1868)– granted citizenship to former
slaves
 15th Amendment (1870)– gave African-American males the
right to vote
 However, later state laws prohibited them from voting…Ex:
Jim Crow Laws (1876-1965)
 Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts of ’64, ’65 – ended Jim Crow
Laws
 19th Amendment (1920) – gave women the right to vote
 Women’s Suffrage: women’s right to vote
 26th Amendment (1971) – lowered the minimum voting age
from 21 to 18