goes in depth about 3rd parties and republicans and democrats

1. Political Parties in
America

2. What is a political party?
▪ A political party is defined as an organized group of people
with at least roughly similar political aims and opinions,
that seeks to influence public policy by getting elected to
public office

3. The History of Political Parties
▪ Why a two party system? Because that’s how it started, that’s how it is going to
stay.
▪ Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists
▪ Hamilton vs. Jefferson
▪ People accept the idea of a two party system simply because that is how it has
always been done.
▪ Partisanship helps keep the divide- a strong allegiance to one side
▪ Party Politics- Voting for bills, candidates, ideas based almost strictly upon the
request of the party.
▪ Democrats voted with President Obama
▪ Republicans voted with President Bush
▪ They each voted against the opposing party.
▪ Party in Power – the political party that controls the executive branch

4. TWO MAJOR PARTIES IN USA
▪ Democratic party- blue, liberal, left, donkey
▪ Republican party- red, conservative, right,
elephant, GOP

5. Five Roles of Political Parties
▪ Nominate candidates- responsible for selecting candidates who will run for
political office
▪ Influence policy- people in each political party want the government’s policies
reflect their own party’s platform
▪ Unite government- a party can link its members at different levels of government
to achieve big goals for the party
▪ Create balance- majority party is able to get many laws passed; depending on the
minority party’s strength, the majority may need to compromise with the
minority before a law will pass
▪ Inform citizens- during campaigns, political parties run television ads, distribute
pamphlets, post blogs, and help candidates give speeches

6. Party Platform
▪ What is a political party platform?
▪ The platform is something like a roadmap; it’s the path the parties
would like to follow if they can find their way to a place where they
can make those decisions. The platform usually contains a list of
the party’s beliefs, policy choices, and ambitions

7. Factors that can influence party
membership:
Other factors: Race, gender,
schooling, friends, geography

8. Minor (Third) Parties
▪ What is a minor (third) party?
▪ A minor party or third party refers to any party other than the major two,
which are the Democratic and Republican parties at present
▪ Why are minor parties important?
▪ Minor parties do a good job of bringing attention to issues that the two
major political parties sometimes overlook and they also play the spoiler
role (stealing votes)

9. Splinter Party
Those parties that
split away from a
major party to form
a small party
Example: “Bull
Moose” Progressive
Party
Economic Protest
Parties
Do not have a
specific set of goals,
rather just a voice
of economic
discontent.
Example: Greenback
Party (anti-
monopolies)
Tea Party
Ideological
Parties
Based on a
particular set
of beliefs.
Example:
Libtertarian
Party
Communist
Party
Types of Minor Parties
Single-issue
Parties
Based on one
specific
public-policy
matter.
Example: Free
Soil Party
US Marijuana
Party

10. Roles of the Minor Party
“Spoiler Role”
▪ Minor party candidates can pull decisive votes away from one of the major parties’
candidates, especially if the minor party candidate is from a splinter party.
Critic
▪ Minor parties, especially single-issue parties, often take stands on and draw attention to
controversial issues that the major parties would prefer to ignore.
Innovator
▪ Often, minor parties will draw attention to important issues and propose innovative solutions
to problems. If these proposals gain popular support, they are often integrated into the
platforms of the two major