Transcript American Political Parties

American Political Parties
What is a Political Party?
• A group of people joined together on the
basis of common principles, who seek to
control government in order to effect public
policies and programs.
• Why do we have political parties?
Why a two party system?
• Called a Partisan political system. What would
be a drawback of this?
Division of the country?
Voting for the lesser evil?
Only competing against each other?
Only concerned about swing voters?
Different Political Parties
• Democrats:
– Large central gov’t, Support gov’t run
programs (social security, welfare, etc.)
– More spending on education
– Pro-choice, gun control, cleaner
environment.
– Historically a strong appeal to urban
America.
Different Political Parties
• Republicans:
– Cut Taxes, smaller
central gov’t
– Trickle-down economics
– Fewer environmental
restrictions
– Historically a strong
appeal to rural, more
conservative areas.
Tea Party
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Republicans have forgot what they stand for.
Illegal Aliens are here illegally.
Special Interests Eliminated.
Government must be downsized, National
Budget must be balanced.
Political offices available to average citizens.
English as core language is required.
Punish companies that “outsource”
Bail-out and stimulus plans are illegal.
Different Political Parties
• Libertarian Party:
– The people not the government should decide how
to run your life.
– Educate children as you see fit
– Reduce taxes whenever possible
– Opposition to gun and civil liberty restrictions
– Fiscal conservatives, social liberals.
• Green Party USA:
– Clean energy and environmental protection
– Non-violence, respect for diversity, and
social and economic justice.
Impact of Green Party?
Impact of Green Party?
Different Political Parties
• American Independent:
– End illegal immigration
– End outsourcing American Jobs
– Balancing the budget
• Natural Law:
– Gov’t here to serve the people and not the other
way around.
– Involve common citizens in running the country
– Uphold second amendment
– Education not legislation
The Presidential Debates
• Should third party candidates be able to
participate in Presidential debates? Why
or why not?
What does this map say about the
current state of politics in the U.S.A?
Electoral College
• Each state has a popular vote.
• The candidate that wins the popular vote
receives all that states electoral college
votes.
• The number of electoral votes each state
gets is based on # senators + # of house
members.
• California has the most at 55.
Should we continue to have an electoral college?
• Create an argument supporting the current
electoral process or create a new process
that you feel would better represent the
American people? Explain your answers.
2008 Election
1984 election
2008 electoral college
2012 battle ground states
Cartoon Assignment
• Create a political cartoon that
demonstrates your knowledge of at least 3
of the political parties we have discussed
in class. Get really creative and see if you
can include the electoral college!
• Explain your cartoon on the back.
• Should be creative and show that time and
effort was invested in the project.
• Color is required!
Journal 1
• Based on your knowledge of the
different political parties which political
party best represents your views?
• Are there groups of people in the
United States that you think shouldn’t
be able to vote?
Who Can Vote?
History of Voting Rights
• 15th Amendment (1870)
– Can’t deny right to vote because of race or
color.
• 19th Amendment (1920)
– Insured the right to vote for all women.
• Voting Rights Act (1965)
– Insured equality at the voting polls.
History of Voting Rights
• 23rd Amendment (1961)
– Added residents of the District of Columbia
• 24th Amendment (1964)
– Eliminated the poll tax.
• 26th Amendment (1971)
– Minimum voting age no more than 18.
Voter Qualifications
• Citizenship
– Up to state, not a constitutional requirement
• Residence
– Must be legal resident of the state in which
you are voting in.
• Age
– Must be 18 years or older.
Political Cartoon Assignment
• Create a political cartoon where you show
the difference between democrats and
republicans or any combination of the
other political parties.
• Or create a cartoon involving voting rights
or the voting/campaigning process.
Voters V. Non-Voters
• In pairs or individually create a poster that
shows the differences between voters and
non-voters. Use pages 164 to 172 in your
textbooks as a reference.