Chapter 22: Political Parties on Our Democracy
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Transcript Chapter 22: Political Parties on Our Democracy
Chapter 22: Political
Parties on Our Democracy
Social Science
Political Parties
A political party is an organization of citizens who wish to influence and
control government by getting their members elected to office
Political parties nominate, or name, candidates to run for public office
Some public offices, especially at the local level, are nonpartisan, meaning
that the candidates do no declare themselves to be members of political
party
Each party has a platform, a statement of the party’s officials stand on
major public issues, that are made up of planks, position statements on
each specific issue in a party’s platform
Planks turn into government programs based on the party’s ideals
Parties provide leadership to citizens and to seats in government
How Parties help Citizens
Parties use persuasive tactics to make sure the
public knows when a party in power is not
doing its job
Parties help provide a way for citizens to be
heard
Parties also provide citizens with information
about news and programs that the party is
organizing
Arrange meetings and canvass, or go door-to-
door handing out information and asking
people which candidates they support
Parties also provide ways in which citizens can
get involved for their cause
The Two Party System
Political parties started during Washington’s
presidency
Sparked from disputes between Alexander
Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, they created the
Federalist and Democratic-Republican party
Our two party system developed in 1854, with the
Republican Party developing from the Whig Party
and the Democratic Party developing from the
Democratic-Republican Party
Even though political elections have been
dominated by two parties, a third party may arise
to support a cause or to back a candidate
Can be difficult to form and run on a ballot, but if
successful, can change the course of an election
by taking votes away from other parties or by
presenting new ideas
Characteristics of Political Parties
The Democratic Party supports taking
responsibility for social programs, tax
increases, and labor unions
The Republican Party supports reducing
the power of the federal government
and that the state and local government
should take responsibility for social
programs
Despite differences, political parties are
similar because they generally have the
same values and need to attract wide
support from the public
Organization of Political Parties
Political parties are organized at the local level in
the same way through precincts, or voting
districts
Each precinct has fewer than 1,000 voters, and
each party has a chairperson or captain that
organizes volunteers to try and get as many
members as possible
Precincts elect city and county committee leaders
Political parties are organized at the state level
through party committees, who organized state
conventions and nominate candidates for office
Each party holds a national convention every four
years, where they nominate a candidate for
President and Vice-President
Changes in Party Strength
Political parties have made their strengths in a combination
of three elements:
Patronage-a system in which party leaders perform favors for
loyal supporters of the party
Parties in Campaigns-nominees in campaigns can either depend
in the party for support and funds or can create their own
Voter Loyalty-voters can either vote on a straight ticket, or a
ballot cast for all the candidates of one party, or a split ticket, or
voting for candidates of more than one party on the same ballot
One reason for declining loyalty is that some Americans choose
their party membership and preferred candidates for different
reasons
Some voters are independent voters, or voters who do not support
a particular party, so the key to gain their attention is through
promotion
Choosing Candidates
The simplest way to become a candidate is through self-nomination, or
declaring that you are running for office
Can declare themselves a candidate and pay a filing fee, become a write-
in candidate, or asks voters to write their name on the ballot, or can file
a nomination petition
Other ways of becoming a candidate is through nomination at a
convention or through a caucus, or a meeting of party leaders to discuss
issues or to choose candidates
Most candidates for state or federal offices are chosen through a direct
primary, or an election in which members of a political party choose
candidates to run for office in the name of the party
Use either a closed primary, or a primary in which a voter must be
registered as a party member and may vote only in that party’s primary,
or an open primary, or a primary in which voters do not need to declare
a party before voting, but they may vote in only one party’s primary
Choosing Presidential Candidates
In presidential primaries, candidate raise money,
mainly from individuals
Each individual can only give $2,000 to each candidate
per election
Candidates can raise up to $31 million for their
campaign
Delegates are chosen in either a presidential
preference primary election or a statewide caucus or
convention
In January and February of a presidential election year,
the primary is held in New Hampshire and the caucus is
held in Iowa
In a presidential year, each party holds a national
convention, where they discuss the candidates, vote
on which candidate will run for President, and
approve the party platform which the candidate will
run on