1. Political Parties
Ch. 5 Sec. 1
“ Winning isn’t everything, it’s the
only thing.” Vince Lombardi
2. What is a Party?
1. Group of people who seek to control the
government through winning elections and
holding public office
3. 2. Most political parties are made of people who
are committed to a common set of public
policies and programs:
a. Education
b. Taxes
c. Unemployment
4. 3. Democratic and Republican parties are
coalitions that are election oriented instead
of issue oriented.
1. Coalition- a union of many persons of diverse
interests who come together to get their
candidates elected to public office.
5. What do Parties do?
1. The Nominating Function:
a. Recruit and choose candidates
b. Provide nominees with a solid base of
support
6. 2. Informer-Stimulator Function:
a. Take stands on issues and criticize the
stand taken by their opponents
b. Use the news and media to perform this
“educational” function
7. 3. Seal of Approval”:
a. Ensure that the people they nominate are
qualified and of good character
b. Ensure elected officials perform their
duties well
8. 4. Governmental Function:
a. State and federal public officials are
regularly appointed on a partisan basis
b. Partisan= one who shows a biased or
unthinking alliance to a political party
c. Show cooperation between the legislative
and executive branches
9. 5. Watchdog Function:
a. Scrutinizes and criticizes the actions of
Government officials
b. Force public officials to be more responsive
to popular concerns
11. The Historical Basis
• Framers were opposed to political parties
• The debates over ratification of the
Constitution yielded our first two parties:
Federalists and Anti- Federalists
12. The Force of Tradition
• Americans support the two-party because
that is the way it as always been
• Minor parties have made little headway
13. The Electoral System
• Single- member districts preserve the two-
party system
• State election laws are deliberately written to
discourage minor parties
14. The American Ideological Consensus
• Although the U.S. is a pluralistic society we
agree on fundamental issues
• Major political parties make moderate stands
to attract the largest possible number of
voters
15. Multiparty System
• Parties represent a wide variety of classes,
religious, sectional, and political issues
• Often they make the Govt. unstable
• In American, institutional and ideological
factors make a multiparty system unlikely
16. One-Party Systems
• Nearly all dictatorships have one-party
systems
• Traditionally, many areas of the U.S. were
dominated by a single party
• In recent years, two-party competition has
spread
17. Membership of the Parties
• Membership is voluntary
• Composed of a cross section of the population
• There are some segments of the electorate
that tend to support one party of the other.
19. The Nations First Parties
• The First American Political Parties were
- Federalists- led by Alexander Hamilton
- Democratic-Republicans- Thomas
Jefferson
They differed on views of economics, govt.’s
role, and interpretation of the Constitution
20. The Eras of One-Party Domination
• The Era of the Democrats, 1800-1860
–Made up of Farmers, Debtors, Pioneers who
backed the Democrats, they dominated the
government after the election of 1800.
–The Democrats were opposed by
Federalists, Whigs, and finally Republicans
21. The Era of the Republicans, 1860-1932
• Supported by Northern and Western farmers,
financial and business interests and African
Americans
• Democrats during this period controlled the “
Solid South”, and rebuilt national support
from the base
22. The Return of the Democrats 1932-1968
• During the Great Depression, Roosevelt
built a new Democratic coalition, based
on the support from Southerners, small
farmers, organized labor, minorities, and
big-city political organizations.
23. • The New Deal
marked a
fundamental shift in
the public’s attitude
toward big
government.
24. The Start of a New Era
• Since 1968, Republicans have dominated the
White House, while Democrats controlled
Congress, the situation is What today?
• This era of divided government is
unprecedented in American history.
• Today the White House is Republican and so is
Congress.
