Two-party system ( American party system )

1. AMERICAN
PARTY SYSTEM

2. INTRODUCTION
• Political parties are enduring organizations under
whose labels candidates seek and hold elective offices
(Epstein, 1986). Parties develop and implement rules
governing elections. They help organize government
leadership (Key Jr., 1964). Political parties have been
likened to public utilities, such as water and power
companies, because they provide vital services for a
democracy.
• The endurance and adaptability of American political
parties is best understood by examining their colorful
historical development. Parties evolved from factions
in the eighteenth century to political machines in the
nineteenth century. In the twentieth century, parties
underwent waves of reform that some argue initiated
a period of decline. The renewed parties of today are
service-oriented organizations dispensing assistance
and resources to candidates and politicians (Aldrich,
1995; Eldersveld & Walton Jr., 2000).

3. U.S. POLITICAL SYSTEM
• The United States is a federal constitutional democratic republic, in which the
president (the head of state and head of government), Congress, and judiciary
share powers reserved to the national government, and the federal
government shares sovereignty with the state governments.
• The executive branch is headed by the president and is independent of the
legislature. Legislative power is vested in the two chambers of Congress: the
Senate and the House of Representatives. The judicial branch (or judiciary),
composed of the Supreme Court and lower federal courts, exercises judicial
power.
• There are major differences between the political system of the United States
and that of most other developed capitalist countries. These include increased
power of the upper house of the legislature, a wider scope of power held by
the Supreme Court, the separation of powers between the legislature and the
executive, and the dominance of only two main parties. The United States is
one of the world's developed democracies where third parties have the least
political influence.
• U.S. politics are shaped by two major political parties: Democrats and
Republicans.
• Citizens have competing interests that differ based on their different
backgrounds—the types of jobs they have, their race or age, whether they
have children, etc.
• Politics are also shaped by special interest groups, lobbyists, and the media.
 lobbyist: A person remunerated to persuade (to lobby) politicians to vote in a

5. LEGISLATIVE
CARRIED
OUT BY
CONGRE
SS
New
national
laws
Modify
existing
ones
Federal
taxing and
spending
Coin money
Declare war
on other
countries
Oversee the
executive
branch of
government
Legislative Branch—This branch consists of the Congress which is
responsible for making the federal laws. Congress consists of two
houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives.

6. CONGRESS
• Capitol in Washington, D.C
• Bicameral body:
• House of Representatives
• Senate

7. • Article. I. Section 1. “All
legislative Powers herein
granted shall be vested in a
Congress of the United
States, which shall consist
of a Senate and House of
Representatives.”

8. Two chambers of Congress
House of Representatives
• Lower house
• Specific district
• Proportion to population
• 435 voting members
• Serve two-year terms
• “first-past-the-post voting” in every
district.
Senate
• Upper house
• Each state Two senators (regardless of
population)
• Six-year terms
• 100 members
• Must approve the Cabinet members and
Supreme Court justices
• “first-past-the-post voting”
“ May reject each other’s bills “

9. Executive
The Executive power lies with the President of the United States who is given the job of executing,
enforcing, and administering the laws and government. The Bureaucracy is part of the Executive
Branch. The executive branch of government is responsible for enforcing the laws of the land. It is
made up of the president, the vice-president, the Cabinet and a number of what are known as
independent agencies. At the head of the executive branch is the US president, who must "take care
that the laws be faithfully executed" and "preserve, protect and defend" the Constitution.
Characteristics
• Head of executive branch
• Head of state
• Commander in chief of
• the military Chief diplomat
Duties
• Negotiates international treaties
• Signs or vetoes bills
• Appoints members of the Cabinet, Supreme
Court & ambassadors
• Pardons for federal offences
The President
“Most powerful man on Earth”

10. All Presidents of US

11. Judicial
• The judicial power of the United States is vested in
the Supreme Court and the federal courts. Their
job is to interpret and apply US laws through cases
brought before them. Another important power of
the Supreme Court is that of Judicial Review
whereby they can rule laws unconstitutional.
Interpret laws
Use them to
settle disputes
Supreme Court
and lower
federal courts

12. POLITICAL PARTIES
• Two-party system
• Republican Party (1854) and Democratic Party (1824)
• Great investment (No amount limit; buying broadcasting
time
• allowed)
• Geography and religion are factors in ideological
positioning
• “Red states”- won by Republican party
• “Blue states”- won by Democratic
The American party system has generally always been a two-party system, especially at
the national level. This kind of system ensures that minority viewpoints can’t control the
government. There are no actual explicit legal prohibitions against third parties in
America, but most governmental institutions require a plurality, and that has generally
resulted in two-party domination. The actual parties in control have changed several
times over the course of history, and currently they are the Democrats and the
Republicans.

13. TWO PARTY SYSTEM
• A two-party system is a system in which two major political parties dominate voting in nearly all
elections at every level of government and the majority of elected offices are members of one of
the two major parties. Under a two-party system, one party typically holds a majority in the
legislature and is usually referred to as the majority party while the other is the minority party. The
United States is an example of a two-party system in which the majority of elected officials are
either Democrats or Republicans.

14. • The Republican Party is one of the two major
political parties in the United States, along with
the Democratic Party. Founded by anti- slavery
activists in 1854, it dominated politics nationally
for most of the period 1860-1932. Eighteen
presidents have been Republicans; most recently,
George W. Bush.
• The Republican Party includes fiscal
conservatives, social conservatives,
neoconservatives, moderates, and libertarians.
Prior to the formation of the conservative
coalition, which helped realign the Democratic
and Republican Party ideologies in the mid-1960s,
the party historically advocated classical
liberalism, paleo-conservatism, and progressivism.
Abraham Lincoln: Abraham Lincoln was the first
Republican president.

15. The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary
political parties in the United States along with the
Republican Party. Since the 1930s, the party has promoted
a social liberal, social democratic and progressive platform,
and its Congressional caucus is composed of progressives,
liberals, centrists, and left-libertarians. The party has the
lengthiest record of continuous operation in the United
States and is one of the oldest political parties in the world.
President Barack Obama is the15th Democrat to hold the
presidency.
The Democratic Party evolved from Anti- Federalist factions
that opposed the fiscal policies of Alexander Hamilton in the
early 1790s. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison
organized these factions into the Democratic-Republican
Party. The party favored states’ rights and strict adherence
to the Constitution; it opposed a national bank and wealthy,
moneyed interests. The Democratic-Republican Party
gained power in the election of 1800.
Andrew Jackson: Andrew Jackson is typically considered
the first Democratic President

16. IDEOLOGIES
Republican Party
• Pro free markets and individual
achievement.
• Against universal health care.
Democratic Party
• Favored farmers, laborers and
religious and ethnic minorities.
• Against unregulated business
and finance.
• Interventionism.
Socially conservative,
economically liberal
Socially liberal,
economically conservative

17. • http://www.rogerdarlington.me.uk/Americanpoliticalsystem.html
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/americas/04/us_election/govt_
• system/html/executive.stm
• http://americanhistory.about.com/od/governmentandpolitics/a/amgov
• overview.htm
• http://www.mimersbrunn.se/The_Political_System_of_USA_1403.htm
• http://www.theusgov.com
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_the_United_States
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election#Electoral_college
• http://www.brighthub.com/education/homeworktips/articles/127123.aspx
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Founding_Fathers_of_the_United_States
• http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/abrahamlincoln