Political Parties

1. POL 140
Fall 2014

7. “A body of men united,
for promoting by their
joint endeavors the
national interest, upon
some particular
principle in which they
are all agreed”
Edmund Burke

8. Sen. Joe Manchin
(D-WV)
Sen. Arlen Specter
(D-PA)
Sen. Jim Jeffords
(I-VT)

9.  Inter and Intra-Party Variation
 Political Party vs. Political Ideology
 Conservative Democrats, Liberal Republicans
 Politicians’ Choices
▪ Vote or caucus with another party
▪ Defect party and join another

10.  A broad coalition of individuals who:
 (1) Recruit, nominate, and elect candidates for office
 (2) Under a given label
 (3) To control the government
 (4) In accordance with their ideas and policies.

12. V.O Key, Jr.

14.  Party-in-the-Electorate
 Loyalty and Identification with Party
 Party Identification (“PID”)
 Example: United States
 What happens if someone has different views?
▪ Likert Scale
Strong
Lib
Weak
Lib
Lean
Lib
Mod
Lean
Cons
Weak
Cons
Strong
Cons

15.  Party Organization
 Party Officials, Committees, Volunteers, Staff
 Functions of Party Organizations
 Party-in-Government
 Officeholders and Candidates
 Local, State, National Levels
 Examples: President, PM, Majority/Minority Leaders

17.  Intermediary Between Citizens and Govt.
 Bring Public Together; Define and Accomplish Objectives
 Competition with Others (e.g. interest groups, media)
 Nominate Candidates for Office
 National, State, and Local Levels
 Role of Party Varies
 Contest Elections
 Mobilize Electorate; Encourage Voting
 Engage Supporters, Persuade Undecided, Minimize Opposition

19.  Organize Government)
 Provide Accountability
 Government Responsibility
 Importance of PID
 Prospective and Retrospective Voting
 Manage Conflict
 Reconciling Group Demands

21.  Regional support for the parties change
 Social groups supporting the parties change
 New groups of citizens are mobilized and
become part of electorate
 Voters change not just which party they vote for,
but also the party that they identify with
 Realignments are typically caused by new
issues that divide citizens

24. Hamilton and
Jefferson both
served in
Washington’s
cabinet.
Despite being
influential to
our founding,
they had
different
conceptions
concerning
government.

25. FEDERALISTS
(HAMILTON)
 Members were elite in
society (wealthy, “white-collar,”
and educated)
 Pro-British
 Strong national
government
 Supported business
DEMOCRATIC-REPUBLICANS
(JEFFERSON)
 Members were less elite
(poorer, “blue-collar”, less
educated)
 Pro-French
 States’ rights
 Supported agriculture

27.  Presidential electors now popularly elected
 Property qualifications for voting dropped
 Voter turnout increased dramatically
 “King Caucus” replaced by nominating
conventions

28. The Whigs formed in opposition to
Jackson’s presidency and policies.

29. Racial issues
and sectional
strife in the
1850s divided
the North and
South in
America.
This resulted in the Third Party System—
and the birth of the Republican Party

31. The Whig party dissolved at this point. It could not survive the slavery
issue while also grappling with the anti-slavery Republican party.

32. Rise of Political
Machines, including
Tweed’s Tammany Hall.
The
Australian
or Secret
Ballot was
adopted to
counteract
party
machines.

34. Standard Oil
Company,
John D.
Rockefeller

35.  Death of Populist Movement
 Beginning of Republican Dominance
From L to R:
Presidents
Warren G.
Harding,
Calvin
Coolidge,
and Herbert
Hoover.

37. FDR’s decisive victory over Hoover led to the “New Deal,” which included social
welfare programs. These programs were continued under the Eisenhower
administration, and expanded on during the Kennedy and Johnson years.

39.  Changes Regarding Ideology and Party ID
 African-Americans: Republican  Democrat
 White Southerners: Democrat  Republican
 Rise of candidate-centered system
 Rise of Third-Party Candidates
 Defined by intense partisanship and gridlock

42. THEODORE ROOSEVELT WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

45. Harry S. Truman
1948 Democratic
National Convention

50. Gov. George Wallace (AL)

59. MAURICE DUVERGER DUVERGER’S LAW
 Example: Three Candidates
in Election with 100 voters
 Candidate A received 49%
of vote (49 people)
 Candidate B receives 26%
of vote (26 people)
 Candidate C receives 25% of
vote (25 people)

62. Rick Perry Mitt Romney